‘Grow and evolve’: New Auburn head football coach speaks on Tigers’ offense

TAMPA, Fla. (WBRC) - It’s a new era on the plains.

New Auburn head football coach Alex Golesh spoke at SEC Media Days for the first time since taking the job after three years at South Florida (USF).

Golesh has spent time in the SEC before as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator from 2021-2022, where he helped lead the Vols to one of the most prolific offenses in the country during that time.

Golesh took his offensive mind with him to USF, and spoke Tuesday morning about how his offense will translate from USF to Auburn.

“I think offensive football is unique in the sense that you better be able to adjust. You better be able to grow and evolve. That’s one that that, as we’ve gone through the evolution of this offense, we’ve done a really good job to adjust what we’re getting.”

Byrum Brown will likely be the starter for Auburn this season. Brown entered the transfer portal after last season and followed Golesh from USF to the plains, and Golesh said it’s a good thing to have a quarterback on the field who has played in the system before.

“The fact that our quarterback has been in it, we inherited him as an 18-year-old and now he’s a 22-year-old, played a ton of football certainly helps. The center being in the system and starting a bunch of games certainly helps.”

Even with veterans who know the system, Golesh said the program has to continue to grow and evolve.

“You can only go as far as everybody’s on the same page. Even though there’s some guys in that room that have been in it, I think the core foundation is going to continue to be the same, but we’ve got to evolve and change. We’re healthy right now, two weeks out from camp as of today, but we’re healthy which is huge for us leaving spring because we weren’t completely healthy in the spring. So I think we’re going to grow and evolve here through fall camp. I think the foundation is in, the guys have got a really good grasp, it helps that just about every room has at least a guy in it that‘s been in it, that knows the expectations and standards. But we’ve got to continue to grow and evolve, we’ve got 15 practices where we’ll work on us, and then we’ll get going on Baylor.”

Auburn will kickoff their 2026 season Sept. 5 vs. Baylor in Atlanta.

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