Alex Golesh came to USF to build a program but he heads to Auburn before job is done

The inevitable became reality on Sunday with the word that USF football coach Alex Golesh is taking the job at Auburn.

Hardly anyone is surprised. After all, Auburn is an SEC program with a rich tradition and USF, for all of its progress, is still at the kiddie table.

However, the sad part for USF fans is that they're not surprised. His departure, while understandable, reinforces the cynicism that South Florida remains a stepping-stone program for now. Hopefully that doesn't last much longer, but that's the way it is as the Bulls have to regroup in a hurry.

The early National Signing Day is December 3, which means CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins needs to replace Golesh with all possible speed. Higgins said he has prepared for however the Golesh saga turned out, so we'll see. Other programs -- probably including the one that Golesh now leads -- will no doubt try to raise the Bulls' recruiting class, which ranks first in the American Conference.

It’s a cutthroat business.

USF owes Golesh a debt of thanks for how he made Bulls football relevant again. Until a three-point loss at Navy, USF was the top Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff ranking.

Here's what I wonder, though.

While Golesh knows what the SEC is like after serving as an assistant for Josh Heupel, it's different when the spotlight is on you. His new team will face challenges starting immediately unlike anything he experienced at USF.

If at some point his team is behind by three touchdowns entering the fourth quarter and Auburn fans — not noted for their patience — are putting For Sale signs in his front yard, will he privately wonder if he made a mistake? He has said that being in a more prestigous conference didn't matter to him, but apparently it did.

Will his new fanbase embrace his process-driven approach, which could take time, as he attempts to reboot the team's culture? Or, like most fans, will they take to social media to complain that they were sold a lemon?

Golesh has repeatedly said he came to USF to build a sustainable program and not just a one-hit wonder. But now he takes off before the job is done. A new coach will put his own imprint on the Bulls, and the odds are good that it will be different from what Golesh built.

Golesh came to USF three years ago with perfect timing. The program was in shambles after the Jeff Scott debacle and. the new guy frequently reminded Bulls fans of the enormous task ahead. When he went 7-6 the first year, including a 45-0 bowl win over a depleted Syracuse team, Bulls Nation embraced Golesh and believed that the Bulls were emerging from the long, dark tunnel that had turned the program into a laughing stock.

On that point, they were correct. Golesh proved it was possible to win again at South Florida.

After USF blitzed Rice 52-3 in the regular-season finale Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium, Golesh was asked about his future plans. His name was already linked to multiple SEC programs.

"I'm so locked into what's going on. I've not had the opportunity to process any of it. I really haven't, and I've Ibeen honest and real throughout my entire time here with you guys the entire time I've been here," he said.

"I told (the team) on Wednesday, man, just give me, give me some time to process everything that's going on. Because I have not had time. I've not had time with my family. I've not had time with my wife to process everything that's going on. So we're going to, we're going to take some time process this, figure it out."

Well, that didn't take long. About 12 hours after saying those words, he had processed the idea of going to a power school in the toughest conference in the land and said, yeah, gimme some of that.

Meanwhile, a stadium is under construction on the USF campus, scheduled to open in 2027. The trustee finance committee recommended that the football program spend to the $20.5 million cap that NCAA allows for direct payments to athletes.

If the full trustee board approves that on December 11, which it will, USF could be the only Group of Five program to do that.

This will continue to be good situation, even if it feels a little empty at the moment.

Oh well.

What's done is done. Golesh is gone and USF needs a replacement.

Your move, Rob Higgins. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knows who that will be.