When Alex Golesh was helping Josh Heupel shatter offensive records at Tennessee, a future on-field battle seemed unlikely between the head coach and his assistant. Now at Auburn, Golesh is preparing to face his former mentor, and he isn’t shying away from the challenge.

During his visit to the Broyles Award Ceremony, Golesh was interviewed by Cierra Clark, who asked him how he felt about the SEC and facing his mentor.

“You want to coach against the best players, you want to coach against the best coaches, you want to compete at the highest level, and it certainly adds another wrinkle to it,” Golesh told Clark on SEC Unfiltered. “You also have to get to play another Power Four team. So, it sets up where you’ve got to have depth. You’ve got to have a plan from a sports science standpoint of the gauntlet that you’re going to go through.

But I’m extremely excited, and you talked about going back to Knoxville. Man, I’ve got so much respect for Coach Heupel and the program that he’s built. We absolutely loved and adored our time. When that time comes, we’ll be as prepared as ever.”

Auburn and Tennessee are set to face each other on October 3, 2026. Since it’ll be a home game for the Vols, the fans will get a glimpse of their former OC. Both head coaches have already clashed off the field during the offseason. Josh Heupel is looking to bring the class of 2027 four-star quarterback Israel Abrams to Knoxville. But Alex Golesh has been making moves of his own, offering Abrams an official visit in the summer. So, the fireworks have already started. But it’s in good taste.

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Before he took on the Auburn job, or even the USF one, Golesh was the Volunteers’ offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. Joining the program in 2021, Golesh polished his coaching abilities under Heupel.

Under Golesh’s guidance, the offense became a juggernaut, breaking eight school records. They shattered the 500-point and 6,000-yard barriers for the season, a testament to a high-powered attack that also minimized mistakes, throwing only three interceptions.

With those numbers, Golesh brought the Vols back to the top ten nationally in offense. This was especially impressive after a disastrous 108th-place finish in the previous year. He continued his offensive success the following season, leading Tennessee to the nation’s top-ranked offense at 46.1 points per game.

That success prompted USF to hire Golesh from Tennessee. Despite taking over a program that had gone 4-29 in the previous three seasons, Golesh led the Bulls to three consecutive bowl finishes. The peak of his tenure came during the 2025 season, when the program defeated two ranked opponents in Florida and Boise State while finishing 9-3.

Josh Heupel has high praise for his former coach

With the new SEC scheduling bringing them together on October 3, the matchup is sure to bring the hype. Despite now being rivals, Heupel had high praise for his former assistant after Auburn hired Golesh.

“Excited for him. Obviously, did a great job here and did a great job at USF,” Heupel said. “It’ll be like playing Mississippi State, where you’ve got one of your former guys that’s on the other side of us. Got a couple of them inside this league. Excited for both of those guys.”

The last time these two teams met was in 2020. In that game, a Bo Nix-led Tigers team ran rampant at Jordan-Hare, beating the Volunteers 30-17. That 2020 result sets a contentious tone for this season’s clash, which is now layered with the intrigue of a master facing his apprentice.