Tampa, Fla. — With football season just around the corner, Alex Golesh’s debut leads him back to familiar places. Before Golesh arrived at the Plains and before he was leading one of the nation's most prolific offenses at the University of South Florida, he was walking the sidelines up in Knoxville, Tennessee.
During Golesh’s time at the University of Tennessee, he was offensive coordinator to current Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Following Heupel from Central Florida, the duo had one of the best offenses in the country over the two years they were together in orange and white. Led by star quarterback Hendon Hooker, the Vols led the country in points per game and total yards in 2022, a year after they finished ninth and seventh in those respective categories.
Heupel, when asked about facing his former assistant, welcomed the opportunity to face Golesh in his first year with Auburn.
“Yeah, unique and exciting when you get an opportunity to face somebody,” Heupel said at SEC Media Days. “But a lot of their staff were young coaches with us and/or guys that played for us at previous stops, and a lot of familiarity. Alex has been in the SEC. He understands, you know, the recruiting and landscape inside of it, and extremely proud of Alex, their staff that transitioned to the SEC,” he added.
Golesh isn’t the only member of Auburn’s coaching staff that’ll get a reunion when the Tigers travel to Knoxville on Oct. 3. In his first time back in Knoxville since his departure, Golesh will be joined by current safeties coach Tim Banks and co-OC Kodi Burns in their returns to Neyland Stadium. Banks served as the Volunteers' defensive coordinator and Burns as the receivers coach during their time in Knoxville.
Tennessee coach Heupel spoke about facing Auburn and not only former OC Golesh, but also former Vols assistants Burns and Banks.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for the guys that are in that building. It'll be unique,” Heupel said.
The former Tennessee trio will make their return to Neyland Stadium on Oct. 3.
