Golesh piecing together an impressive staff
We are now two weeks into the Alex Golesh era at Auburn, and the first-year head coach has done an admirable job piecing together his inaugural staff on the Plains.
As of Monday, just one on-field position coach remains to be hired: tight ends. The direction there is unclear, but the rest of Golesh’s offensive staff is impressive. There’s a mix of continuity and veteran experience as three coaches – offensive coordinator Joel Gordon, wide receivers coach Kodi Burns, and offensive line coach Tyler Hudanick – are making the move from USF with Golesh.
Larry Porter, who coached tight ends at Auburn from 2017-20 under Gus Malzahn, brings a wealth of experience to the running back room – the same role he held least season at West Virginia.
Defensively, the staff boasts considerable acumen. Three coaches who were defensive coordinators in the SEC last season will work on the same side of the ball. Entering his third year as play-caller on the Plains, DJ Durkin is a coach out of whom you know exactly what you’re getting. Coleman Hutzler will take over as outside linebackers coach, and Tim Banks will handle safeties. Durkin is a strong retention and the latter two are very strong hires.
Folks have been raving about cornerbacks coach Demarcus Van Dyke as a young up-and-comer, and Vontrell King-Williams has earned his stripes at Auburn over the past two years coaching defensive line.
All in all, this staff has the tools to restore success to Auburn football. Recruiting will be paramount, as it is with every other staff competing for championships, but there’s reason to believe they can excel on the trail – especially in the Southeast.
Steven Pearl’s Tigers have some improving to do
Auburn basketball hasn’t necessarily given me the warm fuzzies up to this point in the season. Even the recent 92-78 win over Chattanooga offered little reassurance that the Tigers are on their way to a remarkable finish.
Tahaad Pettiford and Keyshawn Hall are going to score the basketball, but turnovers have plagued the Tigers in Auburn’s three losses.
Then the program announced Saturday that backup big man Emeka Opurum is lost for the season due to an undisclosed medical condition. Was he going to contribute great numbers along the way? Probably not, but the loss is still a hit to the depth chart and leaves Auburn with just one true big man in veteran KeShawn Murphy.
Again, it’s still not time to hit the panic button, but this team has yet to piece together a convincing win from start to finish against a major competitor. Things are different, obviously, without a Johni Broome or Dylan Cardwell on your roster. And at the helm is a first-year head coach trying to maneuver his way through a competitive non-conference schedule with 10 newcomers on the roster.
Auburn will take on No. 6 Purdue on Saturday in another heavyweight battle, which is essentially a home game for the Boilermakers. Will a loss warrant panic? No. Will a blowout loss? No. But the Tigers need to show a competitive edge with just one game remaining before SEC play begins.
Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers
Thoughts on Auburn’s 2026 football schedule
The SEC released Auburn’s 2026 football schedule last Thursday night, marking the first nine-game conference slate in league history.
Golesh must like what his squad will face within the first four games of the season. With matchups against Baylor, Southern Miss, Florida, and Vanderbilt to start things off, all games are winnable and will offer a chance to build momentum.
The challenge ramps up in October, though, with trips to Knoxville and Athens, a home game against LSU (plus Lane Kiffin), and a trip to Oxford (minus Lane Kiffin). Auburn will surely need to get out of that four-game stretch with at least two wins to set up a favorable November slate with road trips to Starkville and Tuscaloosa, and home games against Arkansas and Samford.
Some interesting tidbits pertaining to the Tigers’ schedule:
- Three of Auburn’s six home games are in September
- We won’t have to wait long for the Golesh-Sumrall matchup. Auburn will open SEC play against Florida, and the game will mark the Gators’ first trip to the Plains since 2011.
- Auburn only has one home game between Sept. 27 and Nov. 6, a span of 40 days.
Until next time… TG
