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Hating your former head coach is a rite of passage for a college football fan.

Very few get to ride off into the sunset after accomplishing everything they set out to do, and even those coaches take a little time to get back into the good graces of some pockets of the fanbase.

Take a guy like Clemson coach Dabo Swinney for example. He has two national championships to his name and owned the ACC for a decade, yet within the next year or two, he will likely be fired or forced to resign, and the fans will remember the 7-5 seasons long before they come to their senses and revere the guy as one of the best coaches of the 21st century.

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Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney discusses transfer portal activity involving linebacker Luke Ferrelli while seated next to athletic director Graham Neff during a news conference at the Smart Family Media Center in Clemson, S.C., on Jan. 23, 2026. (Ken Ruinard/USA Today Co)

All that is to say, when your coach leaves, be it through his own volition or as a result of poor performance, it's easy to have a sour taste in your mouth as a fan.

Current Auburn coach (and former USF coach) Alex Golesh didn't do anything to change those feelings when, in an interview with USA Today, he made some interesting comments about the comparisons between his current and former employers.

If you think that ruffled some feathers, you are absolutely right.

Bulls fans were incensed that their former coach would dare speak ill of their program, as the fanbase had a full-blown meltdown all over social media.

A general view of Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., before the game between the Auburn Tigers and LSU Tigers on Oct. 4, 2014. (Shanna Lockwood/USA TODAY Sports)

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Okay, look, I get it.

He probably shouldn't have said those things, there is no need to take shots at your former program like that, and Golesh has a reputation for being kind of a prickly guy.

With all that being said, he's not wrong.

People can be mad at Golesh for saying something inflammatory, but saying he is wrong or calling him a liar ain't it either.

The way college football is set up, a team like USF has virtually no shot at even coming close to winning a national championship.

All of their players that are good enough to play at Power 4 schools will just end up being poached by the big boys.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

South Florida Bulls head coach Alex Golesh looks on against the UTSA Roadrunners during the first half at Raymond James Stadium on Nov. 6, 2025. (Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images)

Don't believe me? Look at the USF roster from last season.

Half of those kids are on The Plains with Golesh, which kind of hurts his argument that he thinks he can win at Auburn while taking half his South Florida roster with him, but I digress.

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The days of Boise State and Cincinnati knocking on the door of the national championship are gone (though those teams probably weren't going to win it either).

Unless USF finds a few billionaire boosters underneath the coach cushions and joins a P4 conference, Golesh is correct in his assessment of the situation, whether you like it or not.

Austin Perry is a writer for OutKick.

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