Auburn hires South Florida’s Alex Golesh to six-year deal as coach

Auburn has hired South Florida’s Alex Golesh as its next head football coach, the school announced Sunday.

Sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel that Golesh agreed to a six-year deal with the Tigers. The 41-year-old coach went 23-15 in three seasons at South Florida and led the Bulls to a 9-3 record – their best season since 2017.

“Auburn football is one of the proudest, most tradition-rich programs in all of college football and my family and I could not be more excited to join the Auburn family,” Golesh said in a statement. “This will be a player-driven program, and no one will work harder than our staff. Auburn has won, can win and will win championships. Let’s get to work.”

Golesh takes over an Auburn program that has posted five consecutive losing seasons under former coaches Hugh Freeze and Brian Harsin. Freese was fired on November 2 after a 4–5 start and going 15–19 over two seasons. Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin led the Tigers (5-7, 1-7 SEC) on an interim basis for their final three games.

“(Golesh) has produced winning and record-setting results throughout his career,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “…Alex is nationally known for his player development skills, ability to shape creative and explosive offenses, and his tireless approach to building winning programs. I was also impressed by his coaching experience on both sides of the ball. In our conversation, he showed the determination and edge that this program demands from a head coach.”

Sources told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that Golesh is bringing several USF offensive assistants with him to Auburn, including coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joel Gordon. Gordon and Golesh also worked together under Matt Campbell at Iowa State, where Gordon coached Brock Purdy and others.

This will help Golesh bring to The Plains an exciting offense that produced the No. 2 total offense (501.7 yards per game) and No. 4 scoring offense (43 points per game) in the FBS this season. The Bulls began their season with wins over Boise State and Florida and climbed to No. 18 in the AP Top 25 during a 6–1 start, but fell out of College Football Playoff contention after losses to Memphis and Navy.

He inherited a USF program that slipped to 1-11 with a winless run through American Conference play in 2022 and had won only four games in three seasons under former coach Jeff Scott. Golesh made a rapid turnaround and became the first Bulls coach to lead a bowl eligibility program in each of his first three seasons.

South Florida Athletics CEO Rob Higgins posted to the Express on Sunday that the Bulls’ search for a new coach is “already underway” and “we are always prepared for every scenario, including this one.”

Defensive line coach Kevin Patrick, on his third stint as a South Florida assistant, will lead the Bulls in their upcoming bowl game as interim coach, Higgins said.

“We love Coach Golesh and are very grateful for what he has done for our program,” Higgins said. “Rest assured, we have done everything possible over the past few months to keep them here. We will always be cheering them on!

“… Bulls Nation, our next head coach will build on what Coach Golesh and his staff have helped start. Together we will help take our USF football program to championship heights as quickly as possible! … This new chapter will be our best chapter yet. ALL GAS. NO BRAKES!!!”

For Golesh, the move to Auburn is a return to coaching in the SEC after serving as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach under Josh Heupel in 2021 and 2022.

Golesh was also a serious candidate for the Arkansas head coaching vacancy before taking over at Auburn. The Razorbacks hired Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield on Sunday.