Auburn's 'blue collar approach' to football is perfect for Alex Golesh

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In college athletics, when it pertains to coaching hires, the word 'fit' comes up quite often.

Several coaches like the perfect fit. Look at Auburn, for example. When Hugh Freeze was hired after the 2022 season, most people believed he was a fit at Auburn. The coach before him, Bryan Harsin, on the other hand, was not a fit for the program due to his unfamiliarity with the Southeast. However, neither coach had substantial success with the Tigers. The question is generally always centered on whether the coach fits the school.

The question is rarely asked, though, if the school fits the coach. For Alex Golesh, he feels Auburn fits him. On Wednesday, Golesh appeared on The Locker Room at 680 The Fan in Atlanta, where he talked about this subject.

"I can tell you six months in, this Auburn job fits me, and I thought that taking it," said Golesh. He added that the blue-collar approach to football is a big reason why, because that is what Auburn football was built on.

That approach is evident in the journey that Golesh took to get to this point in his career. He worked his way up the ranks, serving as a defensive line coach at Westerville Central High School in Ohio before becoming a student assistant at Ohio State. Before working at Toledo, Illinois, and Iowa State as a position coach and recruiting coordinator, he served as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois and Oklahoma State. His coaching career took a positive turn when he worked with Josh Heupel at UCF and Tennessee before becoming the head coach at South Florida.

Golesh showed with the Bulls how he can build a program. Prior to his arrival in Tampa, USF was in a tough stretch, going 4-29 over the three years before he was hired. Over his three years as the South Florida head coach, he went 23-15, and the team posted a nine-win season in 2025. Auburn fans are hoping he can do the same at Auburn. The journey to get the Tigers back to the top of the SEC will not be easy, but the blue-collar work ethic of Golesh can make it possible.

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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn football: Alex Golesh explains why Auburn is a great 'fit'

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