Nick Saban Shares Thoughts on Auburn’s Alex Golesh: 'A Really, Really Good Coach’

Although rivals from his time coaching at Alabama, the legendary head coach and analyst had high praise for Auburn's new leader.

Former Alabama head coach and college football analyst Nick Saban spoke highly of Auburn's new head coach. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

There have been many questions surrounding new Auburn Tigers head coach Alex Golesh, chief among them relating to just how long he will stay in the position, especially after the revolving door that has been the head coaching position at Auburn over the past decade. 

Many have shared their thoughts on the Tigers’ new skipper, but Golesh’s latest endorsement may hold the most weight of them all, as it came from the man that many consider to be the greatest head coach in college football history: former Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

“Alex [Golesh] at Auburn,” he said during SEC Media Days. “He brings his quarterback (Byrum Brown) with him from South Florida, and D.J. Durkin is a good defensive coordinator. He kept him. There are some pieces there. I think Alex Golesh is a really, really good coach. I think he’ll have success at Auburn.”

Of course, there is no love lost between Saban and the Tigers, who were (and some would say still are) bitter rivals all throughout Saban’s tenure at Alabama. The Tigers have ended quite a few of Saban’s seasons with the Tide, most notably in 2013 with the Kick Six, or even in 2019, when Bo Nix led the Tigers to a big upset that ultimately kept the Tide out of the then-four-team College Football Playoff.

This fact makes it all the more impressive that Golesh is good enough that Saban has to admit his ability, as it would be quite easy to detract from the Tigers’ head coach simply because he is a Tiger. Saban is known as a man of class, and he is clearly calling it as he sees it.

Golesh has the accolades to back up Saban’s endorsement, most notably at Tennessee, where his offensive scheme led the Volunteers to their best offensive season to date, smashing as many as 14 different offensive records. He has also engineered a massive turnaround for the USF Bulls over the past few years, saving them from a series of horrific seasons and turning them into a team that could even take down SEC teams on their home turf. 

Now, Golesh faces his biggest task yet: taking an Auburn team that has bordered on national irrelevancy over the past few years and returning them to a program that can compete for national championships, as they did in years past. It will certainly be no small task, but Saban’s endorsement may be the vote of confidence many need to finally believe Golesh has what it takes.

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