Where does new Auburn head football coach Alex Golesh rank among the top coaches in college football for the 2026 season?
In a recent article, The Sporting News’ Bill Bender ranked all 138 FBS coaches, and the new Auburn coach finished in the top half of the list. After being ranked No. 92 last year as Golesh entered his third season at South Florida, he landed at No. 50 in the latest rankings. Ahead of Golesh are 13 other SEC head coaches. Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti tops the ranking at No. 1, and Kirby Smart is the top SEC coach at No. 2.
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Auburn is hopeful that Golesh will be ranked higher on any coach’s list after this upcoming season. Golesh proved his ability to build a program at South Florida after arriving in Tampa for the 2023 season. Prior to that arrival, the Bulls had only won four games in three seasons. During his tenure at South Florida, he won a total of 23 games, and now he looks to do the same at Auburn.
The Tigers have not had a winning season since the final season with Gus Malzahn as the head coach, with a 6-4 record. Bryan Harsin only lasted one season and eight games before being fired. Hope was temporarily restored when Hugh Freeze was hired. While he did a good job of recruiting and adding talented players, Auburn could not find success on the field. In three years under Freeze, Auburn won only 15 games with many losses in close games.
Golesh is tasked with changing the culture of Auburn football and getting them back to the winning ways fans were once used to. He has done well, saying all the right things to make the Auburn faithful hopeful. There is recent momentum for the 2027 recruiting class with a No. 12 ranking according to 247Sports.
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn football: Alex Golesh is No. 50 in The Sporting News’ rankings
