Auburn football's future now rests with Alex Golesh

Alex Golesh, a Russian-born coach who led South Florida to three straight winning seasons, was hired as Auburn's head coach as the program seeks to recover after five consecutive losing seasons.

Alex Golesh is Auburn's new head football coach and is arriving amid a period of on-field struggles for the program. Auburn has posted five straight losing seasons and is seeking a return to national competitiveness. Golesh grew up in Moscow, emigrated with his family to the United States in 1991, and rose through college coaching ranks without playing in college. He was head coach at South Florida, compiling a 23-16 record and leading the Bulls to three consecutive winning seasons, including an upset of Florida. Key facts: - Golesh and his family left Moscow for New York in September 1991 and later moved to Ohio where he played high school football. - He worked as a student assistant at Ohio State and held assistant coaching roles at multiple schools before becoming South Florida's head coach in 2023. - At South Florida, Golesh went 23-16 and led the program to three straight winning seasons, which raised his profile for bigger jobs. - Auburn hired Golesh and retained defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin while Golesh brought several staff and players from South Florida. - The coach brought center Cole Bell, quarterback Byrum Brown and 11 other players from South Florida, a large transfer group among power-conference programs this cycle. Summary: The hire is intended to inject structure, experienced staff and familiar players into a program that has struggled in recent years. Undetermined at this time.