The University of South Florida is hiring Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh to be its head football coach, the university announced Sunday.
Golesh, 38, came to Tennessee with head coach Josh Heupel in 2021 after the two were at Central Florida in 2019. He is the sixth football coach in USF history and will be introduced on Monday at 11:30 a.m. at the USF Alumni Center. The event will be open to the public.
"He is a dynamic coach and recruiter who is relentless in pursuit of excellence, as evidenced by his outstanding track record of elevating numerous programs. He also happens to be one of the most creative and successful offensive minds in college football," USF Athletic Director Michael Kelly said in a statement. "Alex has worked his way up through the college ranks, been a key part of successful program-building at numerous stops and has developed perhaps the most fearsome offensive attack in college football today."
Under Golesh and Heupel, Tennessee had the No. 1 offense in the country in yards per play (7.35) and scoring (47.3 points per game).
USF Football described Golesh as a nationally recognized recruiter, with 20 years of experience in collegiate coaching. He also is a finalist this year for the Broyles Award, which honors the top assistant coach in college football.
USF fired Jeff Scott last month after he went 4-26 over two-plus seasons at the Tampa, Florida, school.
Golesh was born in the Soviet Union, grew up in New York and went to high school in Dublin, Ohio, before attending Ohio State, where he broke into coaching as a graduate assistant in 2004.
He has also made stops at Toledo, Illinois and Iowa State.
