Alex Golesh reacts to coaching rumors as jobs open: 'I legitimately couldn't care less'

As the coaching carousel starts to spin, USF coach Alex Golesh is an early name to come up. He has the Bulls at 5-1 and ranked No. 19 in the nation entering Week 8, putting them in strong position for the Group of 6 College Football Playoff spot.

But as jobs start to open around the country, Golesh said he’s trying to block out the noise. He told SiriusXM College Sports Radio he’s not thinking about any rumors or open positions.

Golesh said he hasn’t talked to anyone about other jobs or thought much about vacant positions. Instead, he made it clear he’s sticking to his process at USF heading into this week’s game against Florida Atlantic.

“I’ve not said a word to anybody,” Golesh told Jacob Hester and Bobby Carpenter. “I’ve not thought about it for one second. I think, maybe because I’m not smart enough to be able to think about something else, I’ve never been able to think about anywhere or anything else other than what I’m doing. I think part of that is just how I’ve been brought up and how I operate. … I’m so, so process-driven in terms of, like, I walk in here at the same time every day. I am down to a T.

“The only thing I ever let interrupt my day-to-day is if I’m going to sit down with a player or go down to the locker room and play ping pong for a little bit. Literally, if it’s a player or somebody on my staff needs me for anything, I’ll walk away, drop anything that I’ve got going on. But outside of that, I don’t think about it. I legitimately couldn’t care less at this point.”

Alex Golesh: USF ‘moving in such a cool direction’

USF won seven games in each of Alex Golesh’s first two seasons after he took over, but the program is off to a strong start this year. The Bulls have a marquee road win over Florida, as well as a season-opening victory against Boise State, to build their resume ahead of the American Conference race.

With that, he sees the program on an upward trajectory. But if his name is coming up in coaching rumors, Golesh said it’s a testament to how the players execute and the product they put on the field.

“We’ve got so much awesome things going on here,” Golesh said. “We’re moving in such a cool direction. I’ve never thought about it. It comes up a lot in recruiting, but everywhere I’ve been, it’s been the case. In recruiting, it’s like, ‘Well, so-and-so is saying you’re not going to be here.’ I’m like, ‘Well, the alternative is that we could suck. Then, I definitely won’t be here.’ … I kind of smile at it and laugh.

“The reason why people are saying that is because these dudes bought into a process-driven program and bought into a culture. Truthfully, it’s a credit to the players. I’m organizing it, I’m obviously leading the ship, but these dudes are the ones playing on the field and executing and loving on each other and holding each other accountable. So I take it as a compliment and I guess it’s great, but I’d be lying to you if I said I’ve thought one time about it.”