The Auburn Tigers are headed into the 2026 season beginning a new era under a new head coach in Alex Golesh coming off what has been a very dark run for the program since firing Gus Malzahn.

Both the Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze eras were complete and abject failures and the Tigers have now lost seven games five years in a row.

The last two years, they have failed to make a bowl game and things are as bleak as they’ve been in some time. With the entry of Golesh though, brings a new hope, and for better or worse, things are going to look differently right away.

Golesh brought a whole lot of his South Florida team with him to The Plains, including quarterback Byrum Brown, and while that offense obviously experienced a whole lot of success, this is a whole step up in competition level.

Ultimately, fans are not going to be expecting this team to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, but following a half decade of dreadful quarterback play and boring offense, seeing a more exciting brand of football would be a great start.

At least increasing the win total — which would mean making a bowl game — should be the bare minimum, but it’s not crazy to think that 7-5 or even 8-4 is achievable, given what the schedule looks like. Golesh gets the misfortune of arriving in a year where the Tigers face both Georgia and Alabama on the road, so a victory against either for the first time since 2019 may not be a fair ask, but this should be a competitive team.

If the offense takes steps and the record improves, most fans would be happy with that. Anything less than 6-6 — and frankly maybe even 7-5 — would be a little bit of a disappointment.

Golesh is about to bring some serious firepower to Jordan-Hare Stadium though, and fans are absolutely ready to go. One way or another, there is going to be some big changes this year, and Auburn fans are bought in and ready to be patient.

As long as real steps are taken towards getting the program back on track, fans are going to be behind their head coach strongly headed into his second year.