University of South Florida football coach Alex Golesh has been offered “outside opportunities,” the school’s CEO of Athletics confirmed Wednesday, amid media reports he is making the jump to the University of Arkansas.
There has been no official announcement from Golesh or Arkansas as of Wednesday afternoon. However, Golesh’s acceptance of an offer was reported by Trey Schaap of KABZ-FM in Little Rock. Other outlets reported that Golesh was only offered the job.
USF Athletics CEO Rob Higgins said Golesh received an offer sometime after Saturday’s 48-18 victory at Alabama Birmingham.
“Since Saturday’s game, Coach Golesh has been presented with outside opportunities that he has been transparent about with us,” Higgins wrote in a social media post. "We are respectful and supportive of Coach and his family in their decision-making process. We’ll remain in constant communication.
“Bulls Nation, rest assured, we are ultra prepared for every scenario that could unfold in the coming hours/days. Our commitment and investment has never been higher and we’re also laser focused on being great stewards of our resources. Most importantly, the future of USF Football has never been more bright!"
Since Saturday’s game, Coach Golesh has been presented with outside opportunities that he has been transparent about with us. We are respectful and supportive of Coach and his family in their decision making process. We’ll remain in constant communication. Bulls Nation, rest…
— Rob Higgins (@RHiggins_USF) November 26, 2025
If the reports are accurate, Arkansas, a Southeastern Conference school, is jumping on Golesh's quickly built resume as an offensive innovator and strong recruiter who has demonstrated the ability to turn around struggling teams.
He took over a moribund USF program ahead of the 2023 season and produced a 22-15 record and two bowl victories over three seasons. At 8-3, the Bulls have qualified for another bowl bid this season after flirting with the possibility of getting into the College Football Playoff.
The Bulls close the regular season on Saturday night against American Conference foe Rice at Raymond James Stadium.
Timing would be good for Arkansas
Although the season has not ended, the timing of an Arkansas hire makes sense because of Arkansas’ desire to have a coach in place before college football’s early signing period, Dec. 3-5.
Golesh, 41, would replace interim coach Bobby Petrino, who took over for the fired Sam Pittman in late September. The Razorbacks are 2-9, 0-7 in SEC, with the season finale on Saturday against Missouri.
USF had four victories over three seasons before Golesh came in and engineered a rapid turnaround. He was 7-6 in both of his first two years after signing a reported six-year deal worth more than $15.3 million annually.
This season, the Bulls were listed for the first time the CFP rankings and were back in the AP Top 25 for the time in seven seasons. Now 5-2 in the American Conference, USF’s postseason hopes ended after heartbreaking losses to league rivals Navy and Memphis.
Throughout his tenure, he has emphasized culture, recruiting and dedication to the “process” in returning USF’s program to national relevance.
The American is considered part of a Group of 6 leagues in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision, a step below the Power 4 conferences SEC, Big 12, Atlantic Coast and Big Ten.
Big-time wins raise Golesh's stock
USF’s rise this year was pushed by signature early-season wins over Boise State and Florida, both ranked by AP at the time, and a conference win against North Texas, which is currently No. 24 by AP at 10-1 (6-1 in the American).
On Tuesday, Mean Green coach Eric Morris was hired by another Power 4 school, Oklahoma State of the Big 12.
Golesh, rumored to be in the running for the Oklahoma State job, said Nov. 18 that he was not talking to other schools about job openings.
"I'm so focused and locked in on this program, this team, and we've got so much work to do. But I am not trying. I try to stay away from the social media piece," he said.
"I said a couple of weeks ago, it's humbling that people bring your name up. It's because these guys (players) have done an elite job of building this place to where people are taking notice, Credit to our kids, credit to our staff."
The next day, Higgins turned to social media to address national reports that Golesh was under consideration by several power-conference programs.
“Coach Golesh’s representatives and I continue to have a lot of great conversations and both they and Coach Golesh know how fully invested we are in his long-term future at USF. We won’t discuss the details of those conversations publicly,” he wrote.
“We all appreciate how totally locked in Coach Golesh has stayed on our program and student-athletes throughout this season, despite what a lot of the false reports that continue to circulate online suggest. Go Bulls!”
It would mark an SEC return
Golesh came to USF after three years as the offensive coordinator at Tennessee, another SEC program, and his 2022 Volunteers' offense was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
At USF, he installed a fast-break, no-huddle offense that went into a higher gear this season behind a healthy Byrum Brown, a 230-pound quarterback who needs 117 yards passing and 96 on the ground to become only the 12th player in NCAA FBS to reach the 3,000/1,000 mark in a season.
Brown, who has a year of eligibility remaining, could opt to follow Golesh to Arkansas, transfer to another school or even decide to enter the NFL draft.
Under Golesh and the recently hired Higgins, the football program appears to be in an upward trajectory. Golesh has often expressed the commitment he has received from the university administration.
Whoever coaches the team will benefit from an on-campus $407 million stadium and football operations center, both under construction and expected to open in 2027.
Golesh, who was born in Moscow, graduated from Ohio State in 2006, and climbed quickly through the college ranks, with stops at Northern Illinois, Oklahoma State, Toledo, Illinois, Iowa State and Central Florida. At Group of 6 school Toledo, he recruited consecutive No. 1 classes in the Mid-American Conference. He fielded a top-5 offense at UCF in 2020.
He and his wife, Alexis, have two younger teens, Corbin and Barrett.
