During the fast-moving Auburn coaching search, the Tigers initially made a push for John Sumrall, while Arkansas showed interest in Alex Golesh. In the end, Auburn athletic director John Cohen decided Golesh was the right fit, and the former South Florida head coach landed on the Plains rather than in Fayetteville.
From the moment he arrived, Golesh understood the magnitude of the task awaiting him at Auburn. The program is mired in its most difficult stretch since the late 1940s, and the team hasn’t posted a winning season since Gus Malzahn’s departure in 2020. Even with a string of disheartening losses, Auburn supporters have continued to fill stadiums in large numbers for both home and away games, and the fan base remains desperate for a turnaround.
Golesh has no regrets about picking Auburn over Arkansas, and CBS Sports notes that he has solid justification for that choice.
“How many other places can say that there’s still 88,000 in the stadium every week through that?” Golesh remarked. “How many places can say there’s 40,000 for a spring game after all of that? Are the fans tired? Yeah, they’re tired. I have met with every big money donor in the last six months, and man, they’re tired. They’re sick of it. But they’re still willing to help. They’re still willing to be involved, which is why I took this job because I felt like you genuinely can do it.”
At times, it appears the Tigers are far removed from the level of success they aspire to, particularly when examining the team’s recent decade-long records against Alabama and Georgia. Yet people tend to overlook that Auburn played in the BCS National Championship game twice within a three-year span, and the blueprint for winning hasn’t disappeared.
“Man, I don’t think I would have taken the job if I didn’t think you can get back to competing for national championships,” Golesh said. “I took this job because it felt like it was one of the very few that could.”
A Year 1 turnaround may not be realistic, but the expectation is that Golesh can steer Auburn football beyond the frustrations of the past half-decade and restore the program to annual championship contention.
“You can’t mire yourself in what has happened in the past,” Cohen stated. “But, again, I love the momentum that I believe coach Golesh has created.”
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