08/11/2026
3rd Time the Charm??
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I always liked Gus Malzahn. At the time of his hiring as Auburn’s head coach he was at the top of his game. His hurry-up no-huddle offense combined with a bit of eye candy was fooling defenses and giving opposing teams fits. After a time though his plays became somewhat stale and predictable. College football had adapted to his tricks and in some cases incorporated them into their own offenses.
Still I will always have a place in my heart for a man whose most fowl language uttered was ‘dog crap’. He was a good man with high moral standards, and he passed those values on to the young men who played for him.
Auburn fired Gus Malzahn after the 2020 COVID shortened season. His 2020 team finished with a record of 6-4. After 8 years at Auburn Gus left with a record of 68 wins and 34 losses, a percentage of 67%. His buyout was $21.45 million.
Now as I see it, you should never make a change without a plan. Auburn had none that I know of.
The plan (or lack of it)...Post Malzahn coach #1:
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Then athletic director Allen Greene thought Auburn needed a change. In what appears to have been a one man search committee, he hired Bryan Harsin who he had previously met on a sports related trip out west.
Personally without much thought about him fitting in at Auburn, I thought the change to someone from the outside might be a good thing. Harsin was a former quarterback at Boise State and I believed that offensive experience would put new look and enthusiasm into our offensive troops. Perhaps an upgraded passing offense better than that which Gus put on the field. Maybe something that SEC defenses had not seen.
Little did I know what was happening inside the football program. Harsin made no attempt to establish recruiting channels with in state high schools. Perhaps he thought he would attract talent by reputation or possibly use his offensive skills to coach-up those that did come. Whatever the case, the talent level at Auburn steadily declined and in October of 2022 Harsin was fired after a 3-5 start in only his second season. After less than two seasons Bryan Harsin compiled a record of 9 wins and 12 losses, a winning percentage of 43%. His buyout was $15.3 million.
The Plan (or lack of it) ...Post Malzahn coach #2:
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After the disappointing results from relatively unknown Bryan Harsin, Auburn looked to a coach with proven success in the SEC, and former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze became Auburn’s 29th head coach in November of 2022.
Now Hugh Freeze is a great recruiter of top level players, and he hit the ground running hauling in the nations #19 overall class in a short first recruiting effort. His recruiting was bringing up Auburn’s talent base with the #10 class in his second season, and the #8 class in his third season.
His recruiting prowess was never in doubt. However his QB selection was a transfer from Michigan State, by the name of Payton Thorne. Now Hugh needed a transfer QB with some experience to juice up his somewhat weak first offense in 2023. Thorne had his moments but we needed someone better. I was surprised to see Thorne selected again as the starter in 2024, but it appears that no better replacement was available. The 2024 season ended with a disappointing 5-7 overall and 2-6 SEC record.
In 2025 the Tigers looked like a team whose time had come. At QB was a promising transfer from Oklahoma, Jackson Arnold. Highly touted freshman Deuce Knight was waiting in the wings for his chance. At last the offense was set. Arnold had an experienced and talented RB in Jeremiah Cobb. He had talented receivers Cam Coleman, Perry Thompson, Eric Singleton Jr.
The Tigers started 2025 with a big road win over Baylor and over the next two weeks were entering their first SEC game with a 3-0 record. Two close road SEC losses at Oklahoma and Texas A&M had the team reeling. Perhaps when the team played in front of a home crowd our fortunes might improve. But they did not. Home losses to Georgia and Missouri brought the teams SEC record to 0-4. A road win at Arkansas was a plus but the season could not be turned around.
After a home loss to Kentucky, Auburn could take no more. Hugh Freeze was cut loose to work on his golf game full time in November 2, 2025. His record was 15 wins and 19 losses, a 44% percentage. His buyout was approximately $15.4 million.
Once again I did not know or possibly could not believe what was going on inside the program. I had heard about Hugh’s obsession with golf but what the man does with his spare time is his business right?
Apparently our sure bet hire of a proven SEC winner was another utter failure.
At this point I thought putting coaches names on a wall and throwing a dart to select one might have better results. But cooler heads prevailed.
The Plan (yet to be proven)...Post Malzahn coach #3:
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While Auburn appeared to have all but hired John Sumrall (Tulane), a sudden change of direction sent Sumrall to Florida and Auburn quickly moved to secure Alex Golesh as it’s 30th head coach.
I was sorry to miss out on John Sumrall as I was impressed with his resume and strong ties to Auburn and the state of Alabama. He grew up in Huntsville, Alabama (his mother still resides there) and played football at Grissom High. His wife Ginny is an Auburn Alumnus. He spent two seasons as head coach at Troy where he compiled a 23-4 record before moving on to Tulane where his teams compiled a 20-8 record in two years and also made it to the CFP playoffs last year.
However it was not to be. Sumrall abruptly cut off discussions with Auburn and eventually accepted the head job at Florida. Sumrall’s background is as a defensive coach and it appears possible that Auburn’s desire to retain D.J. Durkin as defensive coordinator was a rub. Also Sumrall very much wanted to coach Tulane in the CFP and that likely did not go well with Auburn’s plan to get a coach in place quickly. Whatever the reason, here we are. The 2026 season is mere weeks away as Alex Golesh prepares for his first season in the SEC and as Auburn’s head coach.
Alex Golesh has an offensive background was formerly the head coach at the University of South Florida where his teams compiled a 23-16 record. Golesh did a good job rebuilding USF who had been 1-11 in their 2022 season. He also put together an impressive offense as the OC at Tennessee in 2022.
Golesh brought 13 USF players with him to Auburn including star QB Byrum Brown. Five receivers including top performer KeShaun Singleton (50 receptions for 877 yds), starting offensive center Cole Best, along with a running back, a corner back and a safety. Several coaches also transferred including former Auburn QB and coach Kody Burns.
The Golesh offense is basically a spread, often placing receivers very wide near the sidelines. If you setup to defend the receivers, he will opt for a running play. Over populate the box and he opts for a pass play. He also runs a very fast pace putting pressure on the defense. Executing this offense properly requires skilled passing, skilled receivers, and good reads by a smart QB. By bringing QB Byrum Brown, offensive linemen, and receivers with him from USF Golesh has given the Auburn offense a jump start.
Getting up and running fast will be a necessity as Auburn faces a revenge game in Atlanta against Baylor whom they beat in last season’s opener, 38-24. Game three of the season is certain to create a media frenzy as Auburn hosts John Sumrall’s Florida Gators.
No one expects Golesh to win the SEC in his first year, but a successful season sure will impress the boss and make the fans happy. So what is a successful season? In wins and losses I would say 6-6 is ok, 7-5 would be better, any above 7 wins is blissful.
We have road games against Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Alabama. As of this date we are likely to be underdogs in all of those games. So we need to look for games at home and make them count. We could be 2-0 heading into a home game with Florida. Winning that game could set the stage for a good season. If we win all our remaining home games Auburn could finish at 7-5. Then it takes a road win to get to 8 wins. That is a lot to ask in season #1 under Golesh.
Why Auburn could win 7 or more games this season:
1) Golesh has brought much of his offensive skill players with him from USF. Getting the new guys on offense meshed in is key. If the offense is up to speed by the Florida game, lookout.
2) Retaining Durkin as defensive coordinator was huge. We lost some good lineman to the NFL, but Durkin has a group very familiar with his scheme. If the defense performs as last year, they could push us to win 7 or 8.
3.) Golesh is hungry, energetic and aggressive. He was at Tennessee as an offensive coordinator, so he knows the talent level and many of the other coaches.
If you have read anything from me over the years I am sure you think I am waaaay too optimistic about this new coach, as I have been about each of our new hires. Sorry but I am all in on Auburn. I watched Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley. I watched Bo Jackson, Cadillac Williams, Nick Marshall and Cam Newton. I was there for the Kick Six and the Prayer in Jordan Hare. I am just pumped up for the next amazing game. I hope you are too!
War Eagle,
TAAB
2026 Schedule:
Baylor at Auburn (Atlanta, Ga) – September 5, 2:30 pm on ABC
Southern Miss at Auburn – September 12, 6:45 pm on SECN
Florida at Auburn – September 19, 6:00 pm on ESPN
Vanderbilt at Auburn – September 26, TBD on ??
Auburn at Tennessee – October 3, TBD on ??
Open date – October 10
Auburn at Georgia – October 17, TBD on ??
LSU at Auburn – October 24, 11 am, on ABC/ESPN
Auburn at Mississippi – October 31, TBD on ??
Arkansas at Auburn – November 7, TBD on ??
Auburn at Miss State – November 14, TBD on ??
Samford at Auburn – November 21, 2:30 pm on SECN+
Auburn at Alabama – November 28, TBD on ??
