On3's Steve Wiltfong provided the soundbite of the offseason for the Auburn Tigers fanbase, comparing first-year head coach Alex Golesh to one of the most successful coaches of the NIL era: Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning.
Wiltfong compared the locker room cultures in Eugene over the past four years and the Plains under Golesh during an appearance on Monday morning's edition of McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning on WJOX-94.5.
"Well, I love what they’re doing foundationally. And obviously Alex Golesh and this new staff is showing their chops on the trail. They beat Miami for a tailor-made Miami running back… They beat Georgia for a very versatile defensive back… They beat Notre Dame for an offensive lineman," Wiltfong said.
"They’re recruiting at a high level. They have the resources and the support to continue to compete on the trail with the heavyweights. And I think as this moves forward, you’re going to see Coach Golesh and his administration and staff continue to organize and rally resources around this program.
"I like what they did in the transfer portal from a culture standpoint… It’s a staff full of good dudes, great energy in the building, great cohesiveness. It’s an environment that kind of reminds me of what Dan Lanning’s got going on at Oregon."
Those are incredible expectations. Lanning's run started with 9-3, which could be tough for Golesh's squad to achieve this fall, given the Tigers' difficult October stretch against the Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, and Ole Miss Rebels over the span of three weeks. Since 2022, Oregon has won double-digit games every regular season. Year three was an undefeated Big Ten Championship season.
On one hand, it feels like AU is working from far behind where the Ducks were when Oregon upped the ante under Lanning. On the other hand, it was second-year head coach Curt Cignetti who just brought the Indiana Hoosiers to glory with many of his transfers from his previous school, the James Madison Dukes. So really, anything is possible, and nothing is off the table as long as Golesh is in the seat, from a financial and institutional standpoint.
Don't take my word for it. Take Jimmy Rane's.
Alex Golesh has a guarantee from above that he'll be supported at Auburn
“I’ve met him. He seems like a really nice fellow, and he’s very passionate, very committed. And I certainly wish him nothing but the best. I think he’s really going to do a good job, I hope, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the product looks on the field ... I really like Coach Alex, and I believe our leaders did a good job in trying to find the right coach. I’m going to give him every opportunity to be successful," Rane said.
Golesh is coming in with successful SEC experience, but he didn't win a title like Lanning. You don't need that long-established background as a coordinator, though. You don't need to have ever won before. Cignetti has changed the game.
It's best not to have expectations in the Cig arena, but building a culture like Lanning's, where a franchise-caliber QB is brought aboard every offseason, coordinators are capably replaced, and the team is disciplined and has not had scandalous off-field controversies, would truly be a dream for the Tigers with the Golesh hiring. The recruiting is definitely already similar, since the two teams are separated by one spot in the 2027 cycle as of this writing. You could already see signs of support from the top down. Will that change the results on the field, though?
Let's hope Wiltfong isn't teasing a fanbase that can't handle more empty hype after three fruitless years of it with Hugh Freeze.
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