Rocky Top Loses a Key Piece to its Success

With the college football season wrapping up, teams with coaching vacancies are looking for their new guy to lead the program. The University of South Florida has hired former Tennessee Volunteers offensive coordinator Alex Golesh to become the sixth head football coach in Bulls history.

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Golesh replaces Jeff Scott, who went 4-26 in two years as the Bulls head coach.  Scott was the former offensive coordinator for the Clemson Tigers, who helped Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence become the Top 10 NFL draft picks.

The good thing for South Florida fans is that it can only get better with Golesh. He has been around all of college football but has mostly followed Josh Heupel. Golesh went to Knoxville in 2021 and has helped bring Tennessee back to relevance.

In two seasons, Golesh has made Hendon Hooker a household name for college football fans. Hooker commanded the Golesh offense and became a Heisman frontrunner before he tore his ACL against South Carolina this year.

Golesh transformed Tennessee into a fast, RPO-style, passing offense. This year, Tennessee became the No. 1 offense in college football, averaging 47 points per game, 6,457 yards, and 75 touchdowns. Due to this dominant Tennessee offense, Rocky Top had its best season since 2001. Tennessee is currently ranked No. 6, is going to the Orange Bowl to play the Clemson Tigers, and has beaten the Alabama Crimson Tide for the first time in 15 years.

This is a big win for the University of South Florida as Golesh can transition the Bulls into the new, fast-paced passing offense that college football is transitioning to.