The SEC coaching carousel is in full spin, and Tulane’s Head Coach Jon Sumrall is the man throwing two of the conference’s biggest programs into a frenzy. After grabbing Auburn’s interest for a long time now, Florida has arrived in the mix too. But with the Gators’ move, there is some intel that Auburn is making a strong case to bring in $3 million head coach Alex Golesh into the team.

Thr host of ‘Locked On’, Mike Gittens confirms the report, which adds even more smoke to the Golesh-to-Auburn talk.

“Can confirm. Alex Golesh’s name has arisen as a serious candidate in light of the revelations around Jon Sumrall and Florida. Working to confirm what stage talks are at between Auburn and Golesh, but he is a name to watch. @thewarrapport.”

Tulane’s head coach, Jon Sumrall, was Auburn’s target since the school fired coach Hugh Freeze on November 2nd, but now that Florida has shifted its interest from Lane Kiffin after his increasing interest in the LSU Tigers, Sumrall is their main target. With Sumrall seemingly out, Auburn is now focusing on USF head coach Alex Golesh. ESPN also reported that Sumrall plans to make his final decision Sunday morning, which makes it highly unlikely that Auburn’s going to land him.

As their AD, Cohen confirmed that he hopes to name a head coach within 24 hours of the Iron Bowl, and he “would doubt” that Auburn would wait past the early signing period, which is from December 3 to 5, to make a coaching hire. So, with that, Golesh becomes the Tigers’ new favorite. Now, even though Golesh made it pretty clear in October that he had “never chased a job” and felt no desire to leave USF, the landscape has changed majorly since then. As major SEC programs are competing for him, that can catch his interest.

The hype around Golesh makes sense, as he took a struggling USF program from 4-29 over three seasons to back-to-back winning years with a 22-15 record. On top of it, they are in playoff contention this year, which makes him a perfect candidate for the Auburn job. Now, Golesh has signed a six-year deal worth $15.3 million in 2022, so if he decides to leave before January 1, his buyout will be $3 million.

Then, Golesh’s recruiting skills give Auburn another reason to show interest in him. Last year, after taking the reins at South Florida, he secured a top 50 class, their first since 2014, and it was the highest-ranked class among all Group of Five programs. Now, Alex Golesh’s resume might look impressive, but Auburn should give it a second thought, looking at history.

Coaches who made their move from the American Athletic Conference to the Power Four have not given a definitive result. Scott Frost is a perfect example of this, as he moved from UCF to Nebraska with a 13-0 record but couldn’t do much for the team and finished 16-31 before getting fired in 2022 midseason. That’s more than enough for Auburn to think twice about Golesh.

But Auburn isn’t the only one fighting for Alex Golesh.

Arkansas making moves to grab Alex Golesh’s commitment

Along With Auburn, Arkansas is also in contention. Interestingly, earlier this week, Arkansas radio host Trey Schaap reported that Golesh had already accepted their offer. However, USF Athletic Director Rob Higgins stepped in to clarify the entire situation. Higgins confirmed on X that Golesh has been getting offers and is pretty open about it with his team.

“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 assured, we are ultra prepared for every scenario that could unfold in the coming hours/days,” Higgins said.

On top of it, reports also confirm that the Razorbacks are willing to double Golesh’s contract amount with a five-year deal worth $35 million. That can give Auburn tough competition. Well, Golesh’s success at Iowa State, leading them from a three-win season to three straight bowl games, or taking Illinois from a two-win season to back-to-back bowls, makes both programs fight for him. Now, let’s wait and see which team he finally picks.