I was half right before the South Carolina game.
If you recall, I said that Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh should be on South Carolina’s radar if they ever need to replace Shane Beamer. Well, Beamer seems to be on sound footing after beating the Vols and Clemson in consecutive weeks. As for Golesh being a top head coaching candidate, that was confirmed on Monday.
First, Golesh was named as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation, then he was reportedly a candidate for the head coaching job at Cincinnati. That’s quite a day.
Golesh was named as one of five finalists for the Broyles Award on Monday and he might well win it. The Vols were pretty good on offense, ranking as the No. 1 team in the nation in both yards per game (538.1) and points per game (47.3).
Second, Golesh was named as a candidate for Cincinnati’s head coaching position, which was was made vacant by Paul Chryst’s firing from Wisconsin, which was filled by former Bearcat head coach Luke Fickell.
Should Tennessee fans be concerned? Yes.
Here’s why:
1. There’s really nothing a program can do when an assistant gets offered a head coaching position. It’s not as if money is a factor. The money paid to a head coach would be considerably more than to an assistant, but even if not, going from assistant to head coach is an upwards move. Moreover, Cincinnati is a good job.
2. It’s really just a matter of time until Golesh gets poached as long as his offense is putting up eye-astounding numbers. Now, that might continue next year or it might not. Remember Tennessee has a starting quarterback to replace and an offensive line to rebuild. For all the talk of quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who is set to enroll at UT in January, he is still an unknown. Golesh could think it’s time to strike while the iron is hot. Nevertheless, this is going to be something the Vols are going to have to deal with as long as they’re having success – and that’s a good thing.
3. As mentioned before the South Carolina game, Golesh has strong roots in the midwestern area. He has coached at Ohio State, Northern Illinois and Illinois. He is originally from Dublin, Ohio. Cincinnati makes sense for a number of reasons.
Now, before Tennessee’s fan base begins to fret, remember this, Golesh is not the most qualified candidate on the Bearcats’ reported list. Former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell has head coaching experience and he’s reportedly being considered. Cincinnati could also decide to hire from within by promoting offensive coordinator Gino Guidugli to head coach. Those were two of a handful of names mentioned in the report by The Athletic.
There are other candidates to consider that have resumes longer than Golesh’s. However, it’s tough to find an assistant in all of college football that has a hotter resume than Golesh.
