Auburn announced the hire of former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh on Sunday afternoon to lead the Tigers’ program into the future. Golesh is an experienced offensive mind who helped orchestrate Tennessee’s offense in Josh Heupel’s first two seasons on Rocky Top and should bring some much-needed excitement to Auburn football in the near future.
Under Golesh’s offensive coordinator direction, Tennessee created a quarterback juggernaut with Hendon Hooker at the helm. Hooker, one of just five 3,000-yard passers in Tennessee program history, currently sits at No. 6 in UT’s all-time single-season passing yardage mark at 3,135 yards during the 2022 season. Golesh also worked closely with former Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III. While he had already accepted the South Florida head coaching job during Milton’s first full year as the starter in 2023, Golesh still played a big role in Milton’s development during their two years together on Rocky Top.
While highlighting some of Golesh’s career accomplishments on social media on Sunday, Auburn Football touted his work with both Hooker and Milton. They aren’t shown in their orange-and-white Tennessee uniforms, but the post does highlight how both players wound up making it to the league.
Development that translates beyond Saturdays 📈@CoachGolesh | #WarEagle🦅 pic.twitter.com/scQ3LyY2A3
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 30, 2025
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The third quarterback in the post is San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, whom Golesh helped develop as an offensive assistant coach while at Iowa State in 2018 and 2019.
Golesh was officially introduced as the Tigers’ head coach on Monday afternoon in Auburn.
To be the Head Football coach at Auburn University, to represent this fanbase, I’m beyond grateful. I’m going to pay it back tenfold.
🗣️ @CoachGolesh pic.twitter.com/koNjpupdfU
— Auburn Tigers (@AuburnTigers) December 1, 2025
After being away from the Tennessee programs for the past three years while serving as the head coach at South Florida, Golesh will officially make his return to Rocky Top in 2026. Golesh’s Tigers will take on Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Volunteers in Neyland Stadium at some point during the 2026 football season.
Golesh’s first season with Auburn will also feature home games against Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Florida, and LSU, with road games at Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more information on Golesh’s return to Knoxville when more information is officially announced.
