BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Before Alex Golesh walked into Jordan-Hare Stadium to be named Auburn University’s 33rd head football coach, a crowd of fans had gathered outside the Harbert Recruiting Center to catch a glimpse.
Lined up in the form of a miniature Tiger Walk, it provided him with a glimpse of the future and the support from a passionate fanbase cheering on its fourth coach in seven years. However, that recent turnover and the prospect of facing one of the nation’s toughest schedules did not faze him.
If anything, a fired-up Golesh told a room full of university officials, boosters and media on Monday afternoon, the challenge of righting the ship was a dream come true for a competitor eager to prove himself. It was a “surreal” moment that was a dream come true.
“We’re in a race against ourselves to give this elite fan base, to take these elite resources and give what these Auburn fans deserve in every imaginable way,” Golesh said. “We’re in a race against ourselves to do it as fast as we can. At the end of the day, I can’t wait until the fall, [for] 88,043 [people] to cheer on our guys and give this fan base exactly what you deserve. I’m humbled. I’m honored. I’m so grateful to be here. This is a dream come true to be the head football coach at Auburn University, to represent this fan base. I’m beyond grateful for you choosing me, John, and I’m going to pay it back tenfold.”
His appointment comes after a tight-lipped month-long coaching search that saw much speculation about who the hire would be. It initially appeared the Tigers had circled Tulane University head coach Jon Sumrall as their prime candidate as Golesh was strongly linked to the opening at the University of Arkansas.
Athletic director John Cohen expressed confidence that he had hired the right person to turn the program around, saying that his coaching and life experience closely align with the university creed.
“When we began this search four weeks ago, I was asked what characteristics we’re looking for in Auburn’s next football coach. Somebody told me I would use the word ‘edge’ 11 times. I think it was 13,” Cohen said. “What does that mean? When somebody who’s highly competitive, somebody who has a blue-collar mentality. Somebody who’s hard-nosed, intelligent, strategic, forward-thinking, a developer of talent, a program builder. That describes our next football coach, our new football coach, to a tee.”
The contract
Golesh’s six-year deal with Auburn is worth nearly $44.3 million — roughly $7.4 million annually — and his base salary begins at $6.75 million with yearly $250,000 pay raises. The contract also includes a lengthy list of performance-based incentives.
A nine-win season will net Golesh $1.5 million, while 10-win, 11-win and 12-win seasons will increase his bonus by an additional $2 million, $1 million and $1 million, respectively, apiece. Those regular-season winning bonuses total up to $5.5 million.
SEC championship game appearances will be worth $150,000, and a win will be worth an additional $300,000.
Should the Tigers make the College Football Playoff, Golesh will earn $1 million. Appearances in the quarterfinals, semifinals and the national championship game itself are worth an additional $250,000, $250,000 and $500,000 apiece, respectively. A national championship victory will also net him $1 million.
There are several other smaller bonuses for earning a spot in the year-end Associate Press, Coaches or CFP poll top-25, being named the SEC coach of the year and being named national coach of the year by any reputable organization.
In comparison, Hugh Freeze’s initial contract was for six years and worth $6.5 million annually, and Bryan Harsin’s initial contract was for six years and worth $5.25 million annually.
While there were no buyout details included on the copy of Golesh’s contract that Auburn released on Monday, Gus Malzahn received a buyout worth 75% of his remaining contract, Harsin received 70% of his remaining contract and Freeze received 75% of his remaining contract.
None of those buyouts included offsets, which would have allowed Auburn to decrease those buyouts according to the value of the new contracts those three coaches would have signed after being fired. It isn’t immediately clear if Golesh’s contract includes an offset provision.
Coaching experience
Golesh comes from the University of South Florida, where he compiled a 23-15 record in three seasons in his first stint as a head coach. There, his teams made a bowl game three straight years, winning the Boca Raton Bowl in 2023 and the Hawaii Bowl in 2024.
A disciple of the “veer and shoot” offense made famous by Art Briles at Baylor University and Josh Heupel at the University of Tennessee, Golesh’s offenses at South Florida proved prolific. This year, the Bulls finished fourth nationally in scoring offense with 43 points per game and second in total offense with 501 yards per game (275 passing and 226 rushing).
Notable victories during his tenure with USF include a 34-6 home win over then-No. 25 Boise State University on Aug. 28 and an 18-16 road win over then-No. 13 University of Florida on Sept. 6 this year.
Before taking the head coaching job at USF, Golesh was the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee under Heupel in 2021, where the Volunteers finished seventh nationally in scoring offense with 39.3 points per game and ninth in total offense with 475 yards per game (257 passing and 218 rushing).
Previous stops before UT included being the co-offensive coordinator at the University of Central Florida under Heupel, tight ends coach at Iowa State University, tight ends coach at the University of Illinois, running backs and tight ends coach at the University of Toledo and several high school, student assistant and graduate assistant positions before that.
Personal life
The 41-year-old Golesh was born on June 24, 1984, in the former Soviet Union’s capital city of Moscow. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent dissolution of the Socialist confederation two years later, his parents moved him and his older brother to Brooklyn, New York, in 1991 in search of economic stability and a better life.
There, a seven-year-old Golesh watched his parents come to a new country without the promise of a job and work to establish themselves as their home country teetered on the brink of civil war and devolved into economic stagnation, oligarchism and increased mortality rates. According to Golesh, their hard work instilled the virtues of love, commitment and sacrifice in his approach to life.
After spending part of his childhood in New York City, the family moved to Dublin, Ohio, where he became a three-year football letterman at Dublin Scioto High School. Not long after graduating from high school, he became Westerville Central High School’s defensive line coach before attending Ohio State University. There, he served as a student assistant under legendary head coach Jim Tressel from 2004 to 2005.
Golesh will now look to establish himself in Auburn with his wife, Alexis, and his children, Corbin and Barrett.
