The Auburn Tigers shocked everyone on Sunday morning when news broke of their new head coaching hire, landing on South Florida’s Alex Golesh as the new man to lead their program coming off two disastrous eras since Gus Malzahn.

Following the failures both of Bryan Harsin and Hugh Freeze, Tigers fans were fed up and ready for something new. When it looked for a minute like defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was going to get the job, those same fans were not going to be happy. Instead, Golesh and his electric brand of offense arrive on The Plains ready to give Auburn its most exciting era yet.

Of course, you can never truly know how a hire will or won’t pan out, but on the surface, this was a brilliant move for the Tigers and Golesh could prove able to win and win big.

Before arriving to South Florida, the Bulls were one of the worst programs in the FBS, and Golesh leaves Tampa with USF as one of the premiere Group of 5 jobs in the country. Alabama fans will remember matchups against Golesh’s team both in 2023 and 2024, each of which nearly ended in a loss.

After keeping it close against the Crimson Tide both at home and on the road the last two years, Golesh earned the signature victory of his tenure this past season when he took his team into Gainesville and beat the Florida Gators.

Beyond demonstrated results as a head coach at South Florida though, Golesh has a very impressive resume as a play caller as well.

For a Tigers program which has struggled to score points in recent years, fans should see that change very quickly.

Before USF, Golesh worked for three years under Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel both at Central Florida and Tennessee, where his crowning achievement might just be serving as the offensive coordinator for the Vols both in 2021 and 2022.

The 2022 unit was the best offense in the country, a group Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide had no answer for whatsoever when Tennessee ended the losing streak against Alabama in an all-time classic at Neyland Stadium.

In modern college football, offense has become key, and Golesh has led a great offense, bordering on elite in some cases, everywhere he has coached.

Auburn has not been able to land the quarterback to bring them back to relevance, but with Golesh at the helm, signal callers are going to flock to The Plains in an attempt to play with one of the most brilliant, young, offensive minds in the sport.

Golesh seems to have the right kind of attitude, demeanor, and system to ingratiate himself quickly into the Auburn Family.

If he does what he has proven capable of doing at every stop so far in his career, the Tigers will be doing a ton of winning.