First-year Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh has the endorsement of one of the program's all-time great defenders, former linebacker Takeo Spikes, who revealed that Golesh had assured him behind the scenes that the team's history will be honored while he's in charge.
Spikes shared that after meeting Coach Golesh, "it totally changed my perception of him ... Not that it was bad at first, but it really brought me into the process.” He also opined to Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic that Golesh was different from guys like Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze, who hired former Tigers, but largely disregarded former Auburn players when it came to attendance and being around the locker room.
“Some key takeaways that I walked away understanding: No. 1, he made it clear, and it was unsolicited. He wants to embrace the history of the success that Auburn has had in the past… I said, ‘Coach, we kind of heard this before.’ And he was like, ‘No.’ He was like, ‘The reality of it is this place would not have been as prestigious as it is if it wasn’t for you guys, yourself, me,'" Spikes said.
“He was very intentional when it comes to building the culture or rebuilding the culture. He was like, ‘Look, every year we are in, you have to build a team every year… It’s a year-to-year process.’ I thought he did a wonderful job explaining that, and then just explaining the method of how he’s going to do it… I was very impressed.”
Alex Golesh has won the offseason in Auburn
Ultimately, everyone you ask close to the program is optimistic about what Golesh brought to the Plains. Spikes, local media members, and even other AU legends believe there really is something different about the Tigers' latest hire.
Golesh is bringing a fast-paced offense that could help overcome talent deficiencies to the Georgia Bulldogs and other formidable SEC foes in the coming years that outrecruited Auburn. In 2026, he's bringing in most of the components of an offense that was just shredding opponents in the American during the 2025 season.
By most metrics, he's won this offseason already. Those wins don't matter, though. The ones this fall do.
And it finally looks like the Tigers are equipped to steal more than a few games in October and November. At least that's what some of Auburn's all-time greatest are saying.