Bless his heart. Alex Golesh has already done the improbable at South Florida, so what is to say he cannot do it again at Auburn? The former Bulls coach has taken over for Hugh Freeze down on The Plains. Auburn is in the midst of its worst run since the 1940s. It has not won an Iron Bowl since right before COVID. Alabama has changed head coaches, but has continued its domination of the Tigers.
In Brandon Marcello's latest for CBS Sports, he touched on Golesh in the lead-up to his first season at Auburn. Alabama fans may grow to not care for him, but he did extraordinary things in Tampa. More importantly, he has made another hated rival of the Tide's worse by leaving Tennessee. Josh Heupel has not been the same since he took over at South Florida. That being said, this quote is pandering...
When asked how long it will take to beat Alabama again, Golesh channeled his inner Pat Dye by saying, "I think 60 minutes. Maybe overtime." Dye said that way back in 1981 when he took over the Tigers. The late, great Auburn head coach changed the narrative of the Iron Bowl rivalry in the 1980s. However, Golesh being prepped by Auburn staffers to quote their icon is the epitome of cheesiness.
Golesh is many things, but that felt out of character for him. Authenticity will play at Auburn, but being instructed to reach into the past this shamelessly runs counter to what Golesh claims to be all about. He may not be about "tacky, corny" slogans, but he did articulate one. "It's not made-up mottos, quotes," Golesh said. "Real, genuine confidence. The only way you build [it] is through preparation."
The last thing Golesh needs is to become the Auburn equivalent of the Butch Jones cliche factory.
Alabama fans have to be loving Auburn getting in the way of Alex Golesh
Kalen DeBoer might have his issues to sort through, but he has tremendous support from his boss, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne. Although the Crimson Tide fanbase is hit or miss on its head coach, he has won multiple playoff games in his career. Golesh could not even win the Group of Five at South Florida. Last year was the Bulls' time to get it done, but they fell apart at the seams anyway.
No doubt about it. Golesh left South Florida for Auburn because he believes he can win a national championship there. Ancient history has said that is possible, but recent history tells a different tale. Their athletic department has been stuck in neutral after one can't-get-right hire after another. The boosters are all over the place, and the fanbase is running out of patience. Alabama fans are loving it.
Alabama has won the last six Iron Bowls. This is what happens when you fire a quality head coach like Gus Malzahn after a COVID season. There are karmic implications to everything, and that one surely stands out. In time, Alabama will eventually lose to Auburn. That is how rivalries work. However, using Dye's quote to curry favor with the fanbase and local media is not how you actually win the Iron Bowl.
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It starts with recruitment, and it ends with execution. Golesh may try to win in the SEC with former South Florida players. More likely than not, he will find success in the SEC next season. However, success for Auburn is comfortably getting to a bowl game. The Tigers have no shot of making the College Football Playoff this year. Alabama does, and it may need to win the Iron Bowl to get there.
Yes, anything can happen within the context of a heated rivalry such as this one. However, DeBoer has been able to survive all the Iron Bowl could ever hope to throw at him with playoff implications on the line. He is not the perfect head coach, but he typically wins the games he needs to. As for Golesh, he has to reinvigorate a football culture that is stuck in the past. He needs to overcome this to win big.
Alabama were to lose the Iron Bowl to Auburn this season, DeBoer is going to have a long December.
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