Column: A Rare Compliment From Tuscaloosa – Auburn May Have Found Its Guy

Column: A Rare Compliment From Tuscaloosa – Auburn May Have Found Its Guy

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Column: A Rare Compliment From Tuscaloosa – Auburn May Have Found Its Guy
Column: A Rare Compliment From Tuscaloosa – Auburn May Have Found Its Guy
Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh during Auburn football practice at Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, Ala. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026.

Even Through Crimson-Colored Glasses, I Have to Give Alex Golesh His Due

I’m going to say something I don’t say lightly.

As someone who bleeds crimson, wears the Alabama glasses proudly and has spent plenty of Saturdays rooting against Auburn, I have to give the school on the other side of the state a little credit.

Alex Golesh has had one hell of a summer.

And, frankly, he has handled himself about as well as anybody could have expected after inheriting the absolute train wreck left behind by Hugh Freeze.

Since taking over on the Plains, Golesh has seemingly done everything right — not just from a football standpoint, but from a public relations and, more importantly, a human standpoint. There is a genuine sincerity to the guy. He comes across as someone who cares about his players, his staff, his university and the people around him.

That matters.

We haven’t seen that kind of genuine connection from an Auburn head coach in a long time. You have to go back to the Gus Malzahn days to find a coach on the Plains who seemed to understand the importance of representing the entire program, not just winning football games.

Now, before anybody accuses me of drinking the orange-and-blue Kool-Aid, let’s pump the brakes.

None of this means Auburn is suddenly winning the SEC.

Golesh inherited a roster that took a massive hit following Freeze’s departure. There was a significant exodus of talent, and you don’t simply replace that overnight. Then there’s the schedule, which looks like it was designed by somebody who genuinely dislikes Auburn.

So Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Baylor will tell us a lot, but it won’t tell us everything.

The results may not immediately reflect the progress Golesh has made this offseason. That’s the reality of taking over a program in turmoil.

But here’s what I believe: Auburn finally has a ball coach again.

There is an identity being built. There is a culture being established. There is a coach players appear to genuinely respect. And there is a feeling around the program that hasn’t been there in quite some time.

Will that translate to wins?

That’s the million-dollar question, and we’ll start finding out Saturday in Atlanta at the Benz.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the roster isn’t ready. Maybe the schedule eats them alive.

But as the offseason comes to a close, I’m calling it exactly how I see it —

They got themselves a ball coach.

And while I don’t expect Auburn to suddenly become Alabama’s biggest problem this season, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers find their identity again this fall, become a legitimate weekly fight in the SEC and position themselves to be a ranked program comfortably inside the Top 15 by next season.

There.

I said it.

Roll Tide anyway.

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