A headline from a recent Josh Pate’s College Football Show on CBS Sports caught my attention. The theme was the sport’s most underrated head coaches, and it referred to USF’s Alex Golesh and Tulane’s Jon Summerall as Group of 5 “rising stars.”
He said both men probably could have power conference head coaching jobs by now, but added, “I also think they understand the nature of the business and also understand the nature of the sport, and also they're in good places.”
After going 7-6 in his first season and demolishing Syracuse 45-0 in the Boca Raton Bowl, the hype train got a little out of control for USF in the 2024 season. There was talk that after that season, power conference schools had their eye on Golesh. If he could do that after the trainwreck that USF was, what could he accomplish with a power program?
It was almost like everyone wanted to be able to say they were the first to tell you that the USF Bulls were headed to the playoffs. That idea was blown out of the water with losses to Alabama, Miami, and Tulane, but here’s where I believe Golesh stood out.
With their record at 2-4 and quarterback Byrum Brown sidelined for the season after the Tulane game, Golesh never lost his team. The Bulls rallied to win four of their next five and qualify for the Hawaii Bowl, which they won in a five-overtime classic.
The first two seasons removed the rancid taste from the previous two USF coaching regimes, and the hope for this season is that the Bulls take the next step forward.
“I remember talking to some people at Tennessee this past year,” Pate said. “Tennessee made the playoffs. They were a good team this past year, but I had somebody tell me, dude, we miss Alex Golesh, not that we forgot how to play football, but that dude was good.
“He was a very, very plus dynamic in this building, and that's why he's a head coach.”
USF fans are no different than anywhere else. They want results and a chance to bask in triumph. I get it. However, sometimes they forget that other teams have scholarship athletes as well.
If the Bulls do start 0-3 this year – a distinct possibility considering the gauntlet of Boise State, Florida, and Miami – will impatient fans bring fresh kindling wood to the message boards to turn up the heat on Golesh?
Probably.
USF will have a new athletic director and perhaps a president by then. Will they filter out the noise and realize what is being built here?
Hope so.
Golesh was known for his recruiting prowess when he came to USF, and he hasn’t disappointed. On3.com rates his 2026 class tops in the American Athletic Conference and 56th nationally.
That’s better than 11 other power conference programs, including Kentucky and Missouri from the (let us bow our heads) almighty SEC.
These are only verbal commitments at this point, so things could change. Look at this way, though: Before Golesh came to USF, many of those recruits wouldn’t have even taken his call.