Alex Golesh is introduced as the new Auburn football coach on Monday. “We’re going to be the most violent freaking team on the football field every single Saturday,” Golesh says. “... We’re going to outwork, outthink and out-process people across the entire country.” ©Julie BennettJohn Romano, Sports ColumnistTue, December 2, 2025 at 12:56 AM UTC·5 min readThe questions were mostly unremarkable. The answers were generally predictable.
The first news conference for Alex Golesh at Auburn yielded little in terms of insight Monday. He barely mentioned USF during his 45 minutes at the podium, and his reasons for choosing Auburn sounded generic and designed for applause.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut if you’re eager to read between the lines, there is a lesson worth exploring for USF.
“Factor No. 1 (was) making sure the situation we walk into was aligned and there was a real commitment to winning and not just kinda-winning but an elite commitment to being the best in the country,” Golesh said. “There wasn’t any(where) like this place in terms of alignment and commitment.
Who becomes USF’s next football coach? We offer a few candidates
“No. 2, is there support? Is there real, authentic support? What I saw Saturday night on the TV (during the Alabama-Auburn game at Jordan-Hare Stadium) was the greatest atmosphere in college football. When you combine that, you can win at a high, high level.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn its face, that’s a fairly standard answer. Auburn has the highest of expectations, and that’s going to entice ambitious people.
Which brings us to the obvious comparison:
If a vacancy at Auburn attracts coaches with an eye toward a national championship, what kind of coach is attracted to a vacancy at USF?
Answer:
Someone hoping to climb the college football ladder.
Maybe that sounds harsh, but that’s not the intention. It is simply reality for a program still trying to establish itself in the NCAA hierarchy. Until USF is in a place where national championships are a real possibility — until the Bulls are in a Power Four conference — the school will always be a stepping stone for coaches.
By Golesh’s own admission, USF delivered on all of its promises when he was hired three years ago. A campus stadium is under construction. Enough money was provided for assistant coaches, recruiting and other ancillary ingredients to the point that South Florida now has the biggest budget in the American Conference.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd it still wasn’t enough to keep Golesh.
Just as it wasn’t enough to keep Willie Taggart some years ago.
That’s not a slight, for either USF or the coaches. Who wouldn’t want to chase fatter paychecks, bigger crowds, greater glory?
Golesh, 41, did exactly what USF hired him to do. He stopped the bleeding, he created a winning culture and he returned the program to the conversation nationally. The fact that he did not stick around waiting for the promised land is not a character flaw.
Lane Kiffin wants to climb from Ole Miss to LSU, Jon Sumrall wants to climb from Tulane to Florida, Ryan Silverfield wants to climb from Memphis to Arkansas and any go-getter will want to climb from USF to a grander stage.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat’s what fans need to keep in mind in the coming days.
USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins could chase a high-profile candidate who might produce a momentary bump in headlines and social media chatter, but at what cost? Do you want a coach on the downside of his career, or someone hungry and driven?
That’s essentially how Auburn athletic director John Cohen described Golesh. He has an edge, Cohen said. Hard-nosed. Blue collar. Highly competitive. Does that sound like Dan Mullen, who seemed indifferent to recruiting when he was at Florida? Does that sound like Jimbo Fisher, whose wallet is larger than his resume?
You could make an argument that it does sound a little like Jon Gruden, but a 62-year-old who hasn’t coached on the college level since 1991 and has spent 13 of the last 17 years doing media work comes with risks of a completely different nature.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd, yes, I’m aware that up-and-coming coaches do not always work out. Skip Holtz was a disappointment at USF. Jeff Scott was a disaster. Ditto for Billy Napier at Florida, and it’s trending that way for Mike Norvell at Florida State.
On the other hand, six Super Bowl rings did not help Bill Belichick at North Carolina this season.
The point is, Golesh was perfect for USF in 2023. He was cocky, aggressive and ambitious and had many of the qualities that major programs are looking for in a head coach. The fact that Golesh left after three seasons is a sign of the program’s success as opposed to a calamity.
Now USF needs someone similar for 2026. Someone young, hungry and eager to prove themselves. Someone who can take the Bulls just a little farther than Golesh — a conference title would be nice.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd, with any luck, USF will be going through this same exercise again in a few years when their next coach gets scooped up by some big-time program.
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