Auburn football introduces Alex Golesh as next head coach

Auburn officially has its next football head coach, following the departure of Hugh Freeze during the 2025 season.

Alex Golesh was introduced Monday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium, speaking to the media for the first time since the university announced he would be taking over as head coach of the football program.

“Auburn has won, can win and will win championships. Let’s get to work.”

Alex Golesh

Keep reading to see what Golesh had to say during Monday’s press conference + learn more about the coach’s career.

‘Dream come true’

Less than 24 hours after Auburn lost the Iron Bowl, the news came out that Alex Golesh would become the next head coach of the football program.

Auburn Athletics Director John Cohen said they offered Golesh the job early Sunday morning and the offer was accepted immediately. Golesh, who has spent the last three seasons at South Florida, was on campus by Sunday evening.

On Monday, Golesh experienced his first Tiger Walk outside of Jordan-Hare Stadium as he and his family were welcomed by hundreds of fans in blue and orange along South Donahue Drive.

“Winning organizations are built by those who want to be there. Alex Golesh wants to be at Auburn and Auburn wants Alex Golesh to be here.”

John Cohen, Auburn AD

Golesh briefly spoke to the fans outside the stadium before heading inside the Harbert Family Recruiting Center for his first press conference as the Tigers head coach.

Before taking questions, Golesh took time to speak about his family and why Auburn was the right choice for them.

“This is a dream come true to be the head football coach at Auburn University, to represent this fanbase… The support is real. You could feel it coming in here this morning. We’re in a race against ourselves for this elite fanbases, to take this elite resources to give this fanbase what they deserve.”

Alex Golesh

Golesh spoke some of the creation of his first staff at Auburn which includes bringing back former Auburn Tiger Kodi Burns as associate head coach.

When asked about retaining defensive coordinator and former interim head coach DJ Durkin, Golesh said they are still working through that process after presenting a plan in his first 24 hours. He expects it to come into place over the next couple of days.

Here are some of the other key quotes from Golesh’s introductory press conference:

“In every way, we’re going to run the freaking ball.”

“We’re going to be the most violent freaking football team on the field every Saturday.”

“When its driven by the players, we’ll bring a national championship to Auburn University.”

“This is the greatest conference in the entire country. The rivalries are the great rivalries in college football. The hair on my arm just stood up thinking about the Iron Bowl.”

“I like football more than golf.”

By the numbers: Meet Alex Golesh

33: Golesh is the 33rd permanent head coach in the Auburn football program’s history + will be the fourth on the sideline in a seven-year span when he takes the field next season. That’s the most in a 7-year span since the 1930s

2: In his first two seasons at South Florida, Golesh led the team to two bowl wins before going 9-3 during the 2025 regular season.

451: During Golesh’s time, South Florida averaged 451 yards of offense per game including 501 yards per game in 2025, the second highest total in the country.

22: While he has spent just two seasons as a head coach, Golesh has coached at the FBS level for a total of 22 seasons including stops at Tennessee, UCF, Iowa State, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and others.

2022: As the offensive coordinator at Tennessee, Golesh led the top offense in the country. The Vols led the country in scoring (47.3 ppg), total offense (538.1 ypg), yards per play (7.35), and points per possession. Golesh was a finalist for the Broyles Award for the nation’s best coordinator.

2016: Golesh has not been on staff for a losing season since his first season at Iowa State in 2016.

6: Golesh will be one of six new coaches in the SEC next season. The list includes new coaches at Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss and Auburn.

0: At South Florida, Golesh led the Bulls against Alabama twice, challenging the Crimson Tide in both Tampa and Tuscaloosa. However, the Bulls fell short in both games by an average margin of defeat of 20 points per game.

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