Alex Golesh didn’t waste much time at SEC Media Days on Tuesday before laying bare just how steep the climb is at Auburn.
The new Tigers coach was blunt about the challenge in front of him, and his own words ended up doing the kind of damage Alabama fans can appreciate. Auburn hasn’t won more than seven games in a season since 2019, and Golesh made it clear that reality hits hard when he’s trying to sell the program to younger recruits.
"That's where it really hit me," Golesh said. "When I'm talking to a high school junior, the last time Auburn had a winning season, the kid was in sixth grade."
That line alone painted the picture. Auburn was once operating on the same level as Alabama in the SEC, but Golesh pointed out that version of the Tigers is now nearly a decade in the rearview mirror.
"This was a top-5 program in the country for a long time -- like 10 years ago," Golesh continued. "We've got to get it back to that.
And that's where all the time and energy has been getting kids around us. ... It's been changing a mindset even in our own state."
Then came the part that is sure to stick in Tuscaloosa.
"It helps right now that the guy that won a bunch of [titles] isn't there right now," Golesh finished. "It's there for the taking a little bit."
That is a pretty direct shot at the moment Alabama is in under Kalen DeBoer, and it puts a target on Golesh’s back in the rivalry almost immediately. DeBoer is entering his third year in Tuscaloosa and has already taken Alabama to the College Football Playoff once in two seasons. Golesh, meanwhile, is trying to rebuild a program that has not been close to that level in years.
There is confidence in Golesh’s approach, and maybe even a little defiance. He clearly believes Alabama is more vulnerable without Nick Saban in the building. And from Auburn’s side, that’s the kind of message a coach has to sell if he’s trying to convince recruits to bet on a turnaround.
Still, the gap is hard to ignore. DeBoer has already led two different Power Five programs to the College Football Playoff, and each time he got there, he won at least one game.
Auburn has never made the playoff. The Tigers’ last true championship-level team came in 2013, the final season of the BCS, when they fell in the final minutes to Florida State.
That’s the backdrop for all of this: Alabama remains in the playoff conversation almost by default, even through its own turbulence, while Auburn has spent recent seasons fighting just to reach bowl games. Golesh is trying to change that, but he’s doing it while coaching through what is arguably Auburn’s worst stretch in a generation.
And that’s why his comments landed the way they did. Golesh may have meant to show urgency and honesty, but he also reminded everyone just how far Auburn has to go - and gave Alabama plenty to laugh about in the process.
The rivalry hasn’t changed hands yet. But Golesh just made it a lot more personal.
In Other News...
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For Alabama, the encouraging part is that the conversation around the position has shifted from uncertainty to trust in two different skill sets. Coleman-Williams said he is behind whichever quarterback the coaches pick for the season, which fits the bigger picture in Tuscaloosa right now: the staff has options, the locker room appears aligned, and the final call still carries real weight for how the offense takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
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Kalen DeBoer Just Zeroed In On Alabamas Biggest Offensive Problem
Alabamas offseason conversation has centered on the same place it so often does when the Crimson Tide want to get back to their standard: the line of scrimmage. At SEC Media Days, Kalen DeBoer made it clear the staff is putting a premium on getting the rushing offense moving again in 2026, a priority that carries extra weight after a 2025 season in which Alabamas ground game never really found traction.
The numbers told the story, with the Tide averaging just 3.25 yards per rush and landing near the bottom of both the SEC and the national rushing charts. Alabama is hoping the answer comes from two directions at once, with current backs taking another step forward and incoming offensive line help giving the run game a better foundation, but the real test will be whether those pieces turn emphasis into production. [Read more 🡒]