Alex Golesh
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Aleksey Golesh, born June 24, 1984, is an American-Russian college football coach, currently leading the University of South Florida as their head football coach. Before taking the helm at USF, he served as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at the University of Tennessee.
Born in Moscow, Golesh made the move to the United States as a child, growing up in Brooklyn, New York, and Dublin, Ohio. He was a standout three-year letter winner on the football team at Dublin Scioto High School. Aleksey and his wife, Alexis, are parents to a daughter and a son, Corbin and Barrett.
Golesh's coaching journey began as an assistant coach working with the defensive line at Westerville Central High School in Ohio, a program in its inaugural year. He later joined Ohio State in 2004 as a student assistant, earning his degree in 2006. His coaching experience also includes graduate assistant roles at Northern Illinois and Oklahoma State.
At Toledo, Golesh was hired in 2009 as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, working under Tim Beckman, whom he had previously coached with at Oklahoma State. He transitioned to coaching tight ends in 2010, and under his guidance, Toledo secured the No. 1 recruiting class in the Mid-American Conference for two consecutive years.
Following Beckman, Golesh moved to Illinois in 2012, continuing as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. He expanded his responsibilities in 2014 to include coaching running backs, and in 2015, he was promoted to special teams coordinator.
In 2016, Golesh joined Iowa State as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator under Matt Campbell, a colleague from their time at Toledo. In the season prior to Golesh's arrival, Iowa State tight ends combined for just five receptions. By 2019, under his tutelage, Cyclone tight ends hauled in 75 passes, playing a crucial role in the team's success. Golesh mentored all-conference performers at tight end in 2017, 2018, and 2019, leading the Cyclones to two 8–5 seasons and back-to-back bowl appearances in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, Iowa State set a school record for conference victories with six, tying for third in the Big 12 – their best conference finish in 40 years. The 2019 season saw the Cyclones finish 7–6 with an appearance in the Camping World Bowl, their third consecutive bowl invitation. Sophomore tight end Charlie Kolar, a standout under Golesh, caught 51 passes for 697 yards, a school record for a tight end in a season, and seven touchdowns. His performance earned him second-team All-America honors from Pro Football Focus, first-team All-Big 12 recognition, and first-team Academic All-America notice. He was also a semifinalist for the Mackey Award. Teammate Chase Allen also earned second-team All-Big 12 honors, as Golesh's unit achieved the rare feat of sweeping both All-Big 12 tight end awards. This potent tight end production helped Iowa State rank 11th nationally and second in the Big 12 in passing offense, averaging 311.3 yards per game. Both Charlie Kolar and Chase Allen later participated in the 2022 NFL Combine.
Golesh was hired as co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at UCF in 2020, working under Josh Heupel. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 shortened season, the Knights' offense flourished under Golesh, ranking second in the FBS in total offense, fourth in passing offense, seventh in total passing yards, and eighth nationally in scoring offense.
In 2021, Golesh followed Heupel to Tennessee as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. During that season, he helped Tennessee shatter eight single-season team records, including points, total offensive yards, touchdowns, and passing efficiency. Tennessee saw a remarkable improvement in scoring offense, jumping from 108th in the country in 2020 to seventh in 2021.
On December 4, 2022, Golesh was announced as the sixth head coach of South Florida. He concluded his first regular season with a 6–6 record, making the Bulls bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. South Florida went on to defeat the Syracuse Orange 45–0 in the Boca Raton Bowl, finishing the season 7–6 and achieving the second-best turnaround in the FBS that season.
On November 26, 2025, Golesh was reported to have accepted an offer to become the new Arkansas Razorbacks head coach prior to the 2025 season finale against Rice.
Aleksey Golesh (born June 24, 1984) is an American-Russian college football coach who is currently the head football coach at the University of South Florida. He was previously the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at the University of Tennessee.
== Personal life ==
Born in Moscow, Golesh moved to the United States as a child, growing up in Brooklyn, New York, and Dublin, Ohio. He was a three-year letter winner on the football team at Dublin Scioto High School. Golesh and his wife, Alexis, have a daughter and a son, Corbin and Barrett.
== Coaching career ==
Golesh began his coaching career as an assistant coach working with the defensive line at Westerville Central High School in Ohio, whose football program was in its first year. He was later hired as a student assistant at Ohio State in 2004 where he earned his degree in 2006. He also spent time coaching at Northern Illinois and Oklahoma State as a graduate assistant.
=== Toledo ===
Golesh was hired as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Toledo in 2009 working under Tim Beckman, who he also worked under at Oklahoma State as a defensive graduate assistant. He was later shifted to the tight ends coach in 2010. Golesh aided the Toledo program in securing the No. 1 recruiting class in the Mid-American Conference in consecutive years.
=== Illinois ===
Golesh followed Beckman to Illinois in 2012, working once again as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. He also added running backs coach duties in 2014 and was later promoted to special teams coordinator in 2015.
=== Iowa State ===
Golesh was hired as the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa State in 2016 under Matt Campbell, who he worked with at Toledo. In the season before Golesh came to Ames, Iowa State tight ends caught a combined five passes. In 2019, Cyclone tight ends caught 75 passes under his direction and played a pivotal role in the team's success. Golesh mentored all-conference performers at tight end in 2017, 2018 and 2019, as the Cyclones recorded a pair of 8–5 seasons and back-to-back bowl berths in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, Iowa State broke its school record for conference victories in a season (six), tying for third in the Big 12 for the best conference finish 40 years. In 2019, the Cyclones ended 7–6 after an appearance in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, for their third consecutive bowl invitation.
Sophomore tight end starter Charlie Kolar caught 51 passes for 697 yards (most yards all-time by a Cyclone tight end in a season) and seven touchdowns, helping him earn second-team All-America honors from Pro Football Focus and first-team All-Big 12 recognition, as well as first-team Academic All-America notice. He also was a semifinalist for the Mackey Award as one of the nation's top tight ends. Teammate Chase Allen earned second-team All-Big 12 honors as Golesh's unit completed the rare feat of sweeping both All-Big 12 tight end awards. The tight end production helped Iowa State rank 11th nationally and second in the Big 12 in passing offense at 311.3 yards per game. Both Charlie Kolar and Chase Allen participated in the 2022 NFL Combine.
=== UCF ===
Golesh was hired as a co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at UCF in 2020, working under Josh Heupel and alongside co-offensive coordinator Anthony Tucker. Despite the challenges presented by the unique COVID-19 shortened season, the Knights shined offensively in Golesh's first year, ranking second in the FBS in total offense (568.1), fourth in passing offense (357.4), seventh in total passing yards (3,574) and eighth nationally in scoring offense (42.2).
=== Tennessee ===
Golesh followed Heupel to Tennessee as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach in 2021. During the 2021 season, Golesh helped Tennessee shatter eight team single-season records, including points (511), total offensive yards (6,174), touchdowns (67), point after touchdowns made (67), total first downs (316), rushing first downs (164), fewest interceptions thrown (3) and passing efficiency (167.10). Tennessee improved their scoring offense by 101 spots, going from 108th in the country in 2020 to seventh in 2021.
=== South Florida ===
On December 4, 2022, Golesh was announced as the sixth head coach of South Florida. He finished his first regular season with a record of 6–6, making the Bulls bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. The Bulls would go on to beat the Syracuse Orange 45–0 in the Boca Raton Bowl, finishing the season 7–6 and capping the second-best turnaround in the FBS that season.
On November 26, 2025, Golesh was reported to have accepted an offer to become the new Arkansas Razorbacks head coach prior to the 2025 season finale against Rice.
== Head coaching record ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Alex Golesh on Twitter
South Florida profile
Iowa State profile
Tennessee profile
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