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Alex Golesh catches question about playing golf: 'I like football more than golf'

Untitled design (2)by: Sam Gillenwater3 hours agosamdg_33

Due to their last coach, tee times became a running joke since last summer down at Auburn. However, Alex Golesh, their next coach as of his hire yesterday, is not that into hitting the links.

Golesh caught the loaded question during his introductory press conference with the Tigers on Monday. In answering, though, he made it clear that he enjoys being out on the football field than out on the golf course, although his family all enjoys playing golf at various levels.

“So, it’s a setup question,” Golesh joked. “Been here long enough to know that.”

“So, my little man, Barrett, loves golf. And Corbin used to and she’s now super into cheerleading and flag football, so she’s just doing it as a hobby now. And my wife is an elite golfer,” said Golesh. “I, I, like football more than golf. And, I’m terrible.”

Obviously, this is a reference to this past summer’s storyline regarding tee times for Hugh Freeze, the now former coach of the Tigers who has now been succeeded by Golesh. It got as much traction as it did as it was taking place during key recruiting periods at that time of the year, with the class at the time not being rated well for Auburn. It was something that was criticized and joked about at his expense, with it actually having to be defended more than once by Freeze.

However, that doesn’t sound as though that’ll be a problem as far as time management goes for Golesh. And, that response as well as his nod to what was being referenced, was an ace of an answer by the new head coach at Auburn.

Alex Golesh contract: Details reported for new head coach at Auburn

Auburn was among the programs that made hires on Sunday, with them bringing USF’s Alex Golesh to The Plains. Now, the details have been released for what his contract will look like with the Tigers.

AuburnSports’ Justin Hokanson has posted a breakdown of Golesh’s deal with Auburn. It’s a six-year contract, paying him at an average annual salary of $7.3 million and worth a total of $44.25 million, through 2031.

From there, Golesh can accrue even more money based on the incentives outlined in the contract. Those are tied to regular-season wins, rankings, awards won, appearances or winning in the SEC Championship, and appearances or winning in the College Football Playoff. 

This is a significant raise for Golesh, who was reported at a salary of $2.5 million per year as the head coach of South Florida. That, though, was still among the highest averages for any coach in the Group of Five. But, in coming to the SEC, Golesh is projected to now be among the Top-25 to Top-30 or so as far as the highest-paid coaches in college football, with some of that still to be determined and calculated following the new hires and extensions as recently as this weekend around the FBS.

For reference, this is more money per year than what was being paid by the end of the tenure for Hugh Freeze. Freeze was making around $6.7 million, with the Tigers paying a $15.8 million buyout to fire him when they did on November 2nd.

Golesh has arrived at Auburn, with him making his first appearances earlier on Monday. Now, the work begins for him as the next head coach on the sidelines inside Jordan-Hare.