TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 5 2022) – The University of South Florida introduced Alex Golesh as its next football coach Monday morning at the Sam and Martha Gibbons Alumni Center. Golesh, most recently the Tennessee Volunteers Offensive Coordinator, becomes the sixth head coach in USF football history.
He let the South Florida fans know how hard he and his staff will work to turnaround the Bulls program.
“I haven’t slept in three days, but I can’t sleep when I’m fired up about what’s happening right now.” Golesh said in the introductory conference today. “I am going to outwork everybody in the country. Our staff is going to outwork everybody in the country in everything we do. In how we coach our kids and what we pour into them, and how we recruit.”
Golesh has experience with turnaround situations. He helped improve Tennessee from three wins in 2020 to a 10-2 record and an Orange Bowl berth this season. At Iowa State he worked with Matt Campbell to improve the program from a Big XII bottom feeding three-win program to a competitive eight-win program in two seasons.
He described, in broad strokes, what Bulls fans can expect under his leadership.
“Offensively, we’re going to light the scoreboard up. Defensively, we are going to be the most aggressive group in the country.
“Have blind faith in the next six months of the journey, and I’ll promise you I’ll outwork everybody in the country.” Golesh stated. “I’ll bring you the best. The best players, the best coaches, the best nutrition system. The best anything and everything we can get here. Just have a little blind faith in me.
At Tennessee, Golesh, 38, found big time success. In his first season, he helped shatter eight-team single-season records offensively. He improved on this success in his second season with the Vols, finishing the season with the top-ranked offense in the country.
Golesh started his college coaching career as a student assistant at Ohio State in 2004, where he earned his degree in 2006. He next spent time at Northern Illinois and Oklahoma State as a graduate assistant. He put on his coach’s hat for the first time at Toledo as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. From there on, he continued as recruiting coordinator and tight end coach at Illinois and Iowa State.
It wasn't until 2020 that he got his start as the co-offensive coordinator at UCF. After one season, averaging 42.2 points per game, Golesh followed Josh Heupel to Knoxville becoming the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach.
Golesh gave insight into his expectations for the team he plans to create.
“We’re going to have a program where we enable player-driven leadership and allow the players to enrich the culture that will guide them,” Golesh said. “We’ll give them the blueprints and set the standard in every single phase of what we do.”
Mike Vrabel, the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, said this about Golesh.
“Alex has always taken the philosophy of 'no job too small to help the team win' at every stop along his journey,” Vrabel said. “He has remained steadfast in doing what was best for the team, putting the players and his family first and remaining humble as he has climbed through this hectic profession. I am excited to watch his success."
It may not be the flashy name many wanted, but the Golesh era is officially underway at USF. We will see much change in the program. I believe he will find the success Jeff Scott could not and take USF to new heights. As stated, he has high expectations for this Bulls team, but that’s what we need - a coach that will change the system to create a winning team.
It is an exciting time to be a Bulls football fan.
