What Josh Heupel said about Alex Golesh's hire as Auburn football coach
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Josh Heupel's coaching tree gained another coach in the SEC when Alex Golesh was hired as the Auburn coach on Nov. 30.
“Excited for him," the Vols coach said Dec. 3. "Obviously, did a great job here and did a great job at USF."
Golesh served as the Tennessee football offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for the Vols from 2021 to 2022 under Heupel, who he followed to Tennessee from UCF. He was hired as the Bulls coach on Dec. 4, 2002, and went 23-15 in three seasons with a 9-3 mark in 2025.
He is replacing Hugh Freeze, who was fired in his third season, at Auburn.
Tennessee hosts Auburn at Neyland Stadium in 2026. The date has yet to be announced.
"It will be like playing Mississippi State where you’ve got one of your former guys on the other sideline," Heupel said. "Got a couple of them excited inside this league. Exited for both those guys.”
Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby was on Heupel's staff at USF and the pair overlapped at Oklahoma in the early 2000s.
Golesh was on staff for prolific Tennessee offenses, which led to him being a 2022 finalist for the Broyles Award, given to the top assistant coach in college football. Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver.
Golesh's college coaching career started as an Ohio State student assistant. He served on staffs at Northern Illinois (2006-07), Oklahoma State (2008), Toledo (2009-11), Illinois (2012-15), Iowa State (2016-19) and Central Florida (2020).
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What Josh Heupel said about Alex Golesh's hire as Auburn coach
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