Alex Golesh's Reaction to Auburn's Ugly Win Should Get Fans' Attention

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Alex Golesh took responsibility for the Auburn Tigers mistakes against Baylor.

This gives us even more proof that we are entering brand-new territory with this new head coach. 

And I think that goes much deeper than simply a head coach taking some blame after a football game.

The Tigers were nowhere near perfect in the 17-16 win. Byrum Brown threw three interceptions, Auburn struggled to consistently run the football, and there were multiple opportunities for the Tigers to put Baylor away.

Golesh knew that.

You could see the frustration after the game, and it carried directly into his press conference.

But I don't think that frustration was necessarily Golesh being angry at his players. Based on everything we've heard from him this offseason, I think a lot of it was directed at himself.

Because if Golesh is going to establish a certain standard for his football team, he has to live up to that same standard.

And when Auburn didn't Saturday, Golesh believed that started with him.

Especially when discussing Brown's three interceptions.

"Man, I take more blame for the picks than, to be honest with you, Byrum. That's on us as much as anybody, really on me trying to force it a little bit. So I've got to be better. I will be."

That's ownership.

Golesh even took responsibility for Auburn losing its rhythm during the two-minute drive before halftime.

"Again, I'll take all the blame there when we got inside the 25. I felt like we got ourselves out of rhythm. We had a good feel for what was going on, and we jacked it up."

And I think that's where we're starting to learn something about the type of leader Golesh wants to be at Auburn.

We've heard about standards all offseason. We've heard about accountability, preparation, and establishing an identity.

Well, that can't only apply to the players.

If Golesh expects his football team to operate at a certain level, he has to hold himself to that level too.

Of course, ownership doesn't mean removing responsibility from the players.

Golesh still said Auburn has "got to get a whole lot better offensively, protecting the quarterback." He said the Tigers have to improve running the football and making decisions.

His message to the team was also pretty simple: "humble yourself enough to allow yourself to get coached."

That applies to everybody.

Including him.

Maybe that's why his demeanor after the game stood out to me.

Auburn had just won. Golesh just became 1-0 as Auburn's head coach. He certainly could have enjoyed that moment and moved on.

Instead, he knew his football team hadn't reached his standard.

And before demanding that everyone else get better, he started with himself.

If ownership is going to be the new standard at Auburn, that's exactly where it has to start.

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