Former Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator goes viral for comments about Alabama and Miami

Former Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh went viral on Tuesday for some comments he made about playing Alabama and Miami this fall.

Golesh, who took over as the head coach at USF in late 2022 after two seasons as the playcaller at Tennessee, told reporters at the American Athletic Conference kickoff on Tuesday that it's not that USF has to play Alabama and Miami in 2024. Instead, it's that Alabama and Miami have to play USF.

"Bama and Miami gotta play South Florida," said Golesh. "I think it's absolutely imperative for us to play the best teams that we possibly can. I think playing Miami at home is an absolutely huge deal for us. Did it a lot in the Big East days and they gotta come play in Tampa. Going to Alabama is absolutely huge for us. They came to our place [last season]. We had every opportunity to go be successful in that game, couldn't finish it. Now we get to go redeem ourselves. That's what college football is, man. To me, you don't want to go to Tuscaloosa? You don't want to host Miami at home? I think it's awesome. I think that's what college football is. Our guys will be more than ready to go play those games."

Golesh will probably catch some flack from that national media for that comment, but he absolutely shouldn't.

One of the biggest reasons that Tennessee went 11-2 and beat Alabama, Florida, and LSU in 2022 was the swagger and confidence that Golesh brought to the Vols' locker room. He wasn't the only one with that demeanor on Rocky Top in 2022, but his belief in his players helped create an atmosphere where Tennessee believed they were going to win every game they played (and they almost did).

Elite competitors believe they're going to win every game. And Golesh has proven to be an elite competitor (he's had to grind his way to some big jobs in college football as a Moscow native who grew up in Brooklyn and Ohio -- he's earned everything he's received every step of the way). So why would we expect any other approach from him?

No one knows what will happen in USF's games against Alabama and Miami this season. But I wouldn't assume those are automatic wins for the Crimson Tide or the Hurricanes. With Golesh at the helm, USF is a dangerous opponent. And no one should be surprised if they walk away with wins in either of those matchups.

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