Auburn head coach Alex Golesh has hit the ground running in the Plains, convincing several players to remain with the program after former coach Hugh Freeze was fired. Golesh also brought in 39 players to bolster the diminished Auburn roster ahead of one of the most pivotal seasons in the program’s history.
Alex Golesh Felt Guilty Leaving USF for Auburn
Golesh was heavily linked with several jobs during the pinnacle of the coaching carousel that gripped college football toward the end of last season as programs scrambled to find the best coaches on the market.
During Thursday’s segment of the “Pate State Speaker Series” with analyst Josh Pate, Golesh said he felt guilty during the coaching carousel that heavily linked him with various jobs before the Bulls had completed their regular season.
“As interesting a month as I’ve been a part of,” Golesh said. “Nothing prepares you for it. I told my wife after it was all over, ‘It’s crazy if anything you go through because there’s nobody you can talk to about it. There’s nobody that can actually relate in the sense that you’re coaching your football team and all you preach is, ‘Block out the noise.’
“The entire college football world is trying to keep guys focused, week in, week out and then you’re sitting there and there’s this feeling of guilt. Thinking, ‘I am the distraction. And the only reason I am the distraction is because we’re having success.’ That part for me was tough because the last thing I wanted to do was cause any distraction.”
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Golesh was announced as the new Auburn coach on Nov. 30, four weeks after Freeze was fired and one day after the South Florida Bulls demolished the Rice Owls 52-3 to end their regular season. Ultimately, the Bulls finished with a 9-4 record after losing the Cure Bowl to the Old Dominion Monarchs.
The highly sought-after coach revived South Florida after taking over the program, which had a woeful 4-29 record in the three seasons before his appointment. He masterminded the Bulls’ rejuvenation, finishing his career at the helm of the Bulls with a 23-15 record, including leading them to bowl eligibility in all three seasons in charge.
Golesh will have a tough start to his Auburn career, facing off against the Baylor Bears, Southern Miss Golden Eagles, Florida Gators, Vanderbilt Commodores, Tennessee Volunteers, Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, and Ole Miss Rebels in his first eight games in charge as he attempts to return the Tigers to bowl eligibility.
