Former offensive coordinator Alex Golesh helped rejuvenate the Tennessee football program back in 2022 when the Vols posted an 11-2 (6-2 SEC) record with one of the nation’s best offenses. Tennessee ran the veer-and-shoot offense, utilizing tempo to put defenses on its heels while establishing the run and attacking the down field passing game.
But in the ensuing two seasons, Tennessee’s offense took a step back. Opposing defenses adjusted, playing either two or three deep safeties to take away the vertical passing game and make the Vols drive down the field with short or immediate passing.
Tennessee’s offensive production did not fall off a cliff, but it took a major step back. Especially against defenses who could stop the run with just six players in the box.
That led to Josh Heupel making major changes to his offensive system during the 2025 season. Tennessee did not use wide splits nearly as much while incorporating a number of new formations and passing concepts.
Many questioned how much different Tennessee’s offense truly was, but we have a new source that confirmed how significant the changes were. Golesh, now the head coach at Auburn, went on “The Cube Show” with Cole Cubelic this week and shared this interesting factoid about Tennessee’s offense.
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“You look at Tennessee, now is really the first time I’ve had a chance to study them, this spring,” Golesh said. “They don’t look anything like they looked when I was there.”
Media and opposing coaches have often criticized Heupel’s offense and how it translates to the NFL. But the changes to the system could have positive repercussions on the learning curve for Tennessee players making the move to the NFL.
Golesh returns to Neyland Stadium as Auburn’s head coach on Oct. 3 next season. He just wrapped up his third season as head coach at USF where he’s helped lead the Bulls to a 23-15 record. The offensive minded coach inherited a terrible situation in Tampa with the Bulls posting a 1-11 record the year before his arrival. But Golesh got USF back to a bowl game in his first year as head coach.
Golesh inherits an Auburn program that’s floundered since firing Gus Malzahn following the 2020 season. The Tigers hired Boise State’s Brian Harsin to replace Malzahn but fired him after a season and a half. Hugh Freeze did not make it much longer with Auburn firing him following an early November loss against Kentucky.
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