Auburn head coach Alex Golesh announced his full coaching staff Tuesday, filling ten on-field positions with coordinators who have collectively worked at seven NFL franchises and twelve Power Four programs. The hires favor technical expertise and prior working relationships over the marquee recruiting names that typically define SEC assistant markets.
Golesh, who spent the previous two seasons at South Florida after coordinating Tennessee's offense, brought three Bulls assistants to Auburn and reconnected with two former colleagues from his eight-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. The staff includes five coaches with NFL experience—defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman worked four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, while offensive line coach Phil Loadholt played nine years in Minnesota before coaching stints at Illinois and TCU. Special teams coordinator Brian Norwood arrives from South Florida, where he also handled tight ends under Golesh. The continuity extends to scheme familiarity: six of the ten assistants have worked directly under Golesh or within his offensive system at prior stops.
The approach diverges from Auburn's recent hiring patterns. Hugh Freeze's 2023 staff emphasized recruiters with deep Southeast roots—seven assistants had previously coached at SEC schools. Golesh's group skews older and more itinerant. The average age is 42, compared to 38 for Freeze's staff. Four assistants are filling their first SEC roles. Wide receivers coach Terrence Samuel, who coached receivers at Oregon State and Colorado State, has never worked east of the Mississippi. Running backs coach DeAndre Smith comes from San Jose State, where he spent three seasons after a stint at UNLV.
The staff construction suggests Golesh is betting on technical mastery over regional familiarity in a recruiting landscape where transfer portal mechanics increasingly trump high school pipelines. Auburn signed 19 transfers this cycle, the second-highest total in the SEC behind Texas A&M's 21. Freeman's defense at Cincinnati allowed 18.4 points per game in 2023, fourth in the American Athletic Conference. Loadholt's offensive lines at TCU ranked 12th nationally in sacks allowed during the 2024 season. Samuel developed three NFL draft picks at Oregon State between 2021 and 2023, including first-round receiver Silas Bolden.
The staff's salary structure remains undisclosed, but Auburn allocated $8.2 million for assistant salaries in Freeze's final year, seventh in the SEC. Golesh's contract, signed in December, included provisions for competitive assistant pay, though the university has not released specific figures. Alabama pays its ten assistants a combined $9.1 million. Georgia's staff total is $8.8 million. Auburn's athletic department is operating under a $174 million budget this fiscal year, up 4% from the prior year, with $62 million allocated to football operations.
Two positions remain contingent on NCAA compliance clearance. Defensive line coach Travian Robertson, who worked with Golesh at South Florida, is awaiting approval after a secondary violation related to recruiting communication timing at his previous stop. Safeties coach Jordan Payton, formerly at Colorado, is completing paperwork for a prior employment gap that requires additional documentation under SEC bylaws. Both are expected to receive clearance before fall camp begins in July.
The immediate test arrives in spring practice, which starts March 8. Auburn returns 14 starters from a 6-6 team that finished 12th in the SEC in scoring offense at 22.1 points per game. Golesh's South Florida squad averaged 31.4 points in 2025, 18th nationally. The Tigers open the season September 6 against Penn State in Atlanta, then face back-to-back road games at Alabama and Georgia. The schedule includes five teams that finished the prior season ranked in the AP top 25. Golesh's staff will have 25 spring practices to install systems before the summer recruiting sprint begins in June, when the next transfer portal window opens and official visit weekends fill.
Golesh is scheduled to appear at SEC Media Days in mid-July, where questions about his staff's lack of SEC recruiting ties are expected. By then, Auburn will know whether Freeman's defense can slow quarterback Jalen Milroe in the Iron Bowl and whether Loadholt's line can protect against Georgia's pass rush. The staff's credentials suggest competence. The schedule suggests urgency.
The takeaway
Auburn's new staff trades SEC recruiting cachet for coordinator experience and scheme continuity under first-year coach Alex Golesh.
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