Why Alex Golesh won’t leave USF for UCLA or Virginia Tech (or anywhere else)

That didn’t take long.

USF’s Alex Golesh was listed among the top candidates to take over at UCLA after the Bruins fired head coach DeShaun Foster over the weekend. And Sports Illustrated threw his name out there for Virginia Tech.

It's just the beginning. Because of what he's done at USF, Golesh will be linked to just about every open job. There will be plenty of them.

With respect to my learned media colleagues, they’re just throwing darts at a board. I don’t believe Golesh is even 1 percent interested in either job currently open, and here’s why.

I guess people assume he would jump at the chance to take over a Power 4 program, but I don't think he's wired that way. Besides, if he goes to either of those places, he would be taking over someone else’s dumpster fire.

What, you say? USF was in the same situation when he took over for Jeff Scott. Actually, USF was in worse shape.

Since then, though, Golesh has had the support and money he needed to make this “his” program. The pride of ownership is an immense factor.

Why would he give that up just for the “prestige” of a middling ACC or Big Ten program? Besides, USF is likely the top Group of Five candidate when power conferences start playing musical chairs again.

The on-campus stadium under construction at Fowler Avenue is just the most visible sign of what Golesh and the USF leaders have done. It goes much deeper.

In every sense, USF is a Power 4 program in Group of Five clothing.

Golesh has 26 coaches, including 14 who are listed as assistant position coaches. There are 43 positions dedicated to all aspects of the program, ranging from academics and diet to scouting, recruiting, on-campus recruiting, and administration.

Before Golesh took this job, he had assurances from then-Athletic Director Michael Kelly that he would have whatever he needed to make USF football relevant again. This wasn’t a rebuild that required a few nips and tucks; this was a complete razing of the old structure and the creation of a new program in its place.

Golesh knows that if he goes somewhere else, he would be subject to that program’s infrastructure and its way of doing things. At USF, it’s Golesh’s way of doing things.

Obviously, he couldn’t do that without support from the university leadership, and Kelly – the man who hired him – is now at the U.S. Naval Academy and a rival in the American Conference.

However, the blockbuster announcement last week that local icon Rob Higgins is USF’s new CEO of Athletics should put to rest any fear that a substantial change in operations is coming soon.

Yes, USF President Rhea Law is leaving her post, and a search for her replacement is underway. However, the trustee board, headed by Chairman Will Weatherford, is deeply involved in that search.

Since Weatherford and the board have been unabashed champions of what the school is doing athletically, it seems reasonable that any new president will be the same.

Yahoo’s logic in linking Golesh to UCLA is that while at Tennessee, he was a top recruiter for quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who transferred from there after last season to UCLA.

Oh, puleeze! Spoiler alert: His quarterback room now is well-positioned for success when Byrum Brown leaves for the NFL.

Yes, Power 4 schools can pay Golesh more money than the $2.5 million yearly he currently makes. I’ll also wager that Higgins is making the rounds now to raise Golesh’s salary to the point where money won’t be a factor.

Do we need to be reminded that from the middle of the 2018 season until Golesh arrived, USF was 8-47 overall and 2-32 in the American Athletic Conference (as it was known then).

Golesh now has the Bulls contending for the American championship and a playoff spot. Why would he give that up?

Just my opinion: He won’t.