The Josh Heupel coaching tree just added another branch in the SEC, and it’s growing right into Auburn. On Sunday, the Tigers officially named Alex Golesh their next head football coach, pulling him away from South Florida after a productive three-year run in Tampa.
Golesh led the Bulls to a 23-15 record during his time there, but his coaching roots trace back to Heupel’s system. He was Heupel’s offensive coordinator at UCF in 2020, then followed him to Tennessee to help launch the Vols’ offensive identity in 2021 and 2022.
That up-tempo, aggressive style? Golesh helped build it.
And now, he’s bringing that same blueprint to the Plains.
“Excited for him,” Heupel said earlier this week. “Obviously, did a great job here and did a great job at USF.”
Golesh’s hiring adds another layer of intrigue to the evolving SEC landscape, especially with the league’s new scheduling model creating fresh matchups. Tennessee and Auburn haven’t met since 2020, but that changes in 2026 - and the game will take place in Knoxville. That means Heupel and Golesh, once partners in offensive innovation, will be on opposite sidelines in Neyland Stadium.
“It’ll be like playing Mississippi State, where you’ve got one of your former guys on the other side,” Heupel said, referencing Jeff Lebby, another former assistant who’s now calling the shots in Starkville. “Got a couple of them inside of this league. Excited for both of those guys.”
Heupel’s familiarity with Lebby runs deep. The two first crossed paths at Oklahoma when Lebby was a student, then reunited at UCF, where Lebby served as quarterbacks coach in 2018 and 2019 and added offensive coordinator duties in his final season. Tennessee has faced Lebby’s Mississippi State squad the past two years and walked away with wins in both Knoxville and Starkville.
Now, Heupel will prepare to face another former lieutenant in Golesh - and Auburn fans should be ready for fireworks. Golesh’s offenses at USF didn’t just move the ball - they lit up scoreboards, averaging over 35 points per game across his three seasons. That kind of production is exactly what Auburn’s been searching for as they look to reestablish themselves as a contender in the SEC.
While the full 2026 schedule hasn’t been released yet, we know this much: Tennessee will host Auburn, and that game alone carries plenty of storylines. But it won’t be the only test for the Vols. Tennessee is slated to face four programs with newly appointed head coaches next season - Golesh at Auburn, Lane Kiffin at LSU, Ryan Silverfield at Arkansas, and Will Stein at Kentucky.
Here’s the full slate of SEC opponents Tennessee is expected to face in 2026:
- Home: Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, LSU, Texas
- Away: Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Dates are still to be determined, but the matchups are already turning heads.
Golesh’s move to Auburn is more than just another coaching hire - it’s a reunion, a chess match, and a sign of how influential Heupel’s offensive system has become across the SEC. The league is evolving, and the fingerprints of Heupel’s coaching tree are starting to show up everywhere.