There was a non-zero chance that Auburn could have won the Iron Bowl on Saturday night and the news would have been that interim coach and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin was being elevated into the full-time role.
How uninspiring that could have been for the program, both from those in the fan base already holding lukewarm feelings over Durkin surrounding his tenure at Maryland to the fact that the Tigers’ biggest issue the past few years has been on the offensive side of the ball.
Luckily, that scenario did not come to pass as the school announced Sunday it was hiring South Florida head coach Alex Golesh. That’s an incredibly sensible and prudent decision by athletic director John Cohen and is one which can allow Auburn to reach its ceiling in the SEC as a perennial College Football Playoff contender much easier than just simply promoting the interim guy who won a single game.
So, what are the Tigers getting? A veteran offensive mind who knows the league well.
What it means for Auburn
Golesh understands how to turn around an SEC program having been on staff under Josh Heupel at Tennessee and coaching at several other stops around the country where the expectation is to win big. That kind of insight will be key to unlocking what is a high-ceiling and low-floor job at Auburn given the historical fluctuations season to season on the Plains.
He also won’t put up with any ounce of nonsense around the football building and will force everybody around the program to be completely committed to the cause, which truthfully hasn’t been the case at Auburn lately. Golesh has tons of key recruiting relationships around the SEC footprint and should benefit greatly from having the resources available. If he can keep most of the players already on board in the fold for next season, this could be a quick flip that leads to much more rolling of Toomer’s Corner.
Finally, Golesh will make sure this Auburn team isn’t hard to watch (which it has been the last couple of years). His offenses score points—lots of them. They are not stodgy or difficult to understand, it’s about getting big-time athletes in space and letting them run to the house to score touchdowns. This sometimes means allowing a bit more points on defense as a result, but Auburn will certainly make that trade off based on what it has been forced to endure lately.
What it means for Alex Golesh
Like many of his counterparts in the American this season, Golesh was ticketed for a big job in the SEC and it was only a question of where and when. He had conversations with several programs, but Auburn is unquestionably a great fit because it’s a place with easy access to talent, lots of resources ready to step up and can allow its new head coach to compete for CFP berths with much more regularity than if he had gone to a place like Arkansas.
Every Auburn coach will have to deal with the in-state gorilla in Alabama, but Golesh isn’t the type who will want to back down from going toe-to-toe with Kalen DeBoer and the Tide. That’s good news for what he wants to do with the Tigers and for how the fans will receive him moving forward.
Final Grade: A-
Golesh did a fantastic job turning around USF over three seasons and was an easy decision for Auburn to hire on this chaotic coaching carousel. He should be immediately able to help juice the Tigers offense and have them competing for CFP bids moving forward once he really gets rolling on the Plains.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Grading Alex Golesh to Auburn: Sensible Move to Help Tigers Reach Ceiling.
