Alex Golesh Reveals Shocking Truth About His Auburn Hiring

The Auburn Tigers have struggled to find a long-term coach ever since the firing of Gus Malzahn in 2020, though it certainly has not been for lack of effort.

The university’s latest attempt, former USF head coach Alex Golesh, has been received with open arms by the Auburn community, but recently, he shared an interesting fact about his hire that may shock many Tiger fans.

“I had never been here,” he said in a one-on-one interview with David Pollack. “That’s probably about as unique of a situation as imaginably possible, that you take a job when you’ve never actually been to the town. I’ve been through Alabama recruiting over the years, just had never been through Auburn.”

This is, without doubt, unique as far as coaching hires go, but prior familiarity with the campus is certainly not a requirement for one to be a top-level head coach. After all, Golesh has now held the head coaching position since November, so he has had plenty of time to acclimate to the Plains.

Golesh has had much coaching experience over his years, whether at USF, Tennessee or a host of others, but Auburn stands out to him for one key reason: the culture.

“Everybody says it’s different, and it’s different,” he said. “It’s unique in the sense that everything revolves around Auburn; people live and breathe for Auburn athletics in general, but really the university… it’s been incredible.”

You certainly would not know that Golesh is brand-new to the Plains by how the Auburn faithful are treating him, though, as he has had nothing but glowing reviews to bestow upon the residents of Auburn.

“When I say different, when I say unique, it’s hard to quantify, but the best way I can explain it is: every single person you meet, they always ask the same questions,” he said. “‘Coach, do you love Auburn? Are people here treating you right?’ They want you to love it as much as they love it.”

Golesh added one interesting tidbit about a trend with prior coaches at Auburn, as well as how he is beginning to understand why the trend is in such a way.

“I think it says a lot that just about every former coach that’s been through here is back here, or lives here,” he said. 

Golesh certainly has the full support of the Auburn faithful, though he joked that the Tigers’ win-loss ratio may be the ultimate determining factor in how much time he spends outside of his house. With any luck, though, Golesh will have a long, illustrious Auburn career before retiring to Lake Martin, as so many Tiger coaches before him have.

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