Since his appointment in November 2025, Auburn head coach Alex Golesh has sought to change the culture around the Tigers’ program. The environment had grown stale, leading to the firing of former coach Hugh Freeze in November 2025. Auburn finished the 2025 season with a 5-7 record and continues to lag behind the elites in college football.
Alex Golesh Aims to Flip the Iron Bowl Narrative
In an interview with the SEC Network’s Cole Cubelic on Wednesday, Golesh revealed that he is working to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in their annual Iron Bowl rivalry matchup by dedicating a practice period specifically to the game.
“I think the one thing you continuously hear from former players, people that Auburn is really important to, is the last game of the year,” Golesh said. “But the more time I spent here and understanding the importance of what that is to not just Auburn people but the people of our state here. It’s a giant deal, we’re going to emphasize it like crazy.
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“We did it through winter workouts, our finisher drill was the Iron Bowl. We have former players come in and talk about what it meant to them. It’s become something our guys have taken a lot of pride in. It doesn’t take away from the importance of the rest of the year.”
Despite a losing season in 2025, Auburn pushed Alabama to the brink and narrowly lost 27-20 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Crimson Tide has won six consecutive Iron Bowl clashes, spanning both the Kalen DeBoer and Nick Saban eras.
Alabama leads the all-time series 52-37-1. Since the Tigers’ 48-45 win over the Crimson Tide in 2019, they have yet to win more than six games in a season. Conversely, their rivals have averaged 11.2 wins per season. Auburn is now on its fourth head coach since that 2019 victory.
Golesh dismissed potential backlash from rival fans for focusing his attention on winning one game despite the Tigers’ loaded schedule next season.
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“Whatever the reception is on it, I really couldn’t care less, because to us, this team, that game is going to be critically important,” Golesh said. “Is it more important than any other ones? Man, coach talk would tell you no, the next game is more important than anything else.”
In the three seasons before Golesh was appointed the South Florida head coach, the Bulls had a torrid 4-29 record. In three seasons at the helm of the Bulls, Golesh rejuvenated the program, leading the team to a 23-15 record and bowl eligibility in three consecutive seasons.
