BEST FITS for Fired CFB Head Coaches | ALEX GOLESH Convo | Michigan Deep Dive

Summary

Podcast Summary: "See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack"

Episode: BEST FITS for Fired CFB Head Coaches | ALEX GOLESH Convo | Michigan Deep Dive
Date: October 31, 2025
Host: David Pollack
Guests/Co-Hosts: Brent, Alex Golesh (USF Head Coach)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the hottest coaching carousel questions surrounding fired high-profile college football coaches and speculates on their best fits, followed by a detailed "Something’s Brewing" analysis of the Michigan Wolverines. The episode features a wide-ranging, candid interview with USF head coach Alex Golesh, exploring his unique background, coaching philosophy, and building the Bulls’ program. True to form, David Pollack couples honest X's and O's discussions with coach anecdotes and direct locker room observations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Oklahoma State Coaching Search & Changes in the Landscape

• Oklahoma State's evolving head coaching job (01:43–05:01):
  David describes a recent visit to Mike Gundy’s farm, sharing lighthearted anecdotes about Gundy's peacocks and his unique personality.
• Potential candidates:
  • Zach Robinson: Former OSU QB, current Atlanta Falcons play-caller—“there are a lot of people who are Falcons fans who would be glad and would just help him pack to go to Oklahoma State.” (03:36, Brent)
  • Colin Klein: Known for innovation and QB development at A&M.
  • Jim Knowles: Veteran DC, former OSU staffer; could seek his first head coaching opportunity.
• Emphasis on Oklahoma State needing a coach eager to prove themselves, given resource limitations.

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2. Where Do Fired Big-Name Coaches Land?

(05:01–11:35)

• Changing Market Dynamics:
  Early firings and musical chairs (noting Penn State, Florida, LSU) have made the head coach market complex.
• Brian Kelly Analysis:
  • Pollack is unwavering about Kelly:

    “Brian Kelly is a great football coach. Like, you can't convince me of that otherwise. You could debate me if you want to. You're going to lose.” (05:32, David Pollack)

  • Believes Kelly could fit at “Penn State” better than most SEC jobs, citing personality fit and salary expectations.

    “Now his personality. Is that a great fit for everybody else to the—no, it's absolutely not. But like, Brian Kelly, to me, I would hire... I might be more inclined to hire Brian Kelly at Penn State because to me that might be a better fit.” (05:56, David Pollack)

  • On Kelly’s buyout:

    “He’s getting 50 million to walk away... Let’s be smart enough to read the room now and let’s go, ‘Where can I go win?’” (07:32, David Pollack)

• Younger/Older Coach Question:
  Willie Fritz (Houston): Noted as a perennial winner but concerns about age for high-pressure jobs.
  P.J. Fleck (Minnesota): Celebrated for development, but likely not “transactional” enough for a school like LSU.

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3. Halloween Segment – Coaches Swap Stories

(12:14–14:45)

• Light-hearted talk about Halloween memories.
  • David’s approach to limiting his kids’ candy via “candy or toy” swap.
  • Jokes about “dad tax” on Halloween candy.
• Costumes: David once an “insane Dracula,” Brent dressed as Mr. Clean, Joe Dirt, and Richard Simmons for work.

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4. Something's Brewing: Michigan Deep Dive

(16:07–23:56)

• Michigan’s Offense:
  • Bryce Underwood (QB): Pollack’s high expectations have tempered—notes he isn’t dominating as before, but attributes it to adjustment at the collegiate level.
  • Justice Haynes (RB):

    “I haven’t seen a better running back in the country... His vision is nasty. He can hit the home run. He can lower a shoulder.” (18:00–18:30, David Pollack)

  • Passing game is still limited—“not ready yet to go by air consistently to beat you.”
  • Offensive issues: Reliance on RPO, not enough under-center snaps, offensive line “not Michigan”—not elite individually.
  • Receiver Marsh: Emerging as a vital option with “21 of 24 targets” caught.
• Defense:
  • Derek Moore (DL) praised: “Always a guy at Michigan that’s got close to 10 sacks.” (22:00, David Pollack)
  • Defensive line physicality and coaching impresses.
• Season Outlook:
  • Schedule sets up for 9–2 record before the Ohio State game.
  • Historical note: “Since 2005, the team who’s rushed for the most yards in that game has won.” (23:03, David Pollack)
  • Weather will be a factor and run game will be key vs. the Buckeyes.

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5. Podium Kings Segment – Notable Quotes & Soundbites

(24:09–26:02)

• Mark Stoops on Analytics:

  “But that’s what the analytics book said. And I said, well, that’s a stupid book.” (24:40, Stoops quote via Podium Kings Host)

• Lane Kiffin’s Classic Retorts:
  • On Oklahoma claiming to be better than Ole Miss:

    “Maybe they had the better team last year too when we beat them.”

  • Series of quips referencing national championships against Oklahoma and Clemson.
• Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on LSU’s Hiring Process:

  “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it [referencing AD Scott Woodward].” (25:51, Landry)

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6. Conversation with Alex Golesh (USF Head Coach)

(26:38–63:56)

Golesh's Unique Journey & Philosophy

• Background:
  • Immigrated from Moscow in '91 with family’s life savings ($400).
  • Started in New York, moved to Columbus, OH.

    “We moved here... my parents literally dropped everything, and we were living in Moscow. Everything was fine. But my parents were adamant about trying to give my brother and I a better situation and moved here in '91. Literally 400 bucks. No place to live, no car.” (27:04, Alex Golesh)

• Coach Development:
  • Early coaching stints; started on defense, transitioned to offense by request.
  • Gundy’s mentorship:

    “Coach Gundy had some glowing turns from you... he said you loved the grind.” (29:04, David Pollack)

  • Taught young coaches matter—calls his support staff “young coaches,” not just GA’s or analysts.
• Switching Sides:
  • On switching from defense to offense at Toledo:

    “I don't know anything about coaching running backs... [Matt Campbell] said, ‘I'll teach you... recruit one, and then don't screw him up.’” (33:41, Alex Golesh)

  • Emphasizes recruiting talent and not screwing it up as the key to coaching.

System & USF Rejuvenation

• Innovative Offensive Evolution:
  • Drew on lessons from Baylor’s rise, time at UCF with Josh Heupel.
  • COVID allowed for deep dive innovation with Heupel:

    “As good as they were on offense, he [Heupel] is so humble... all we did was sat there and talked ball... He taught me what, what they had evolved to.” (41:44–43:22, Golesh)

• Rebuilding USF:
  • “This was legitimately maybe the worst program in the country. Four games in three years... I could never wrap my mind around why.” (45:41, Golesh)
  • Tampa location, talent-rich area, school investment in facilities help set the foundation for improvement.
  • Focus: retain local high school talent, develop in-house, and utilize the portal for Florida/Georgia players wanting to return.
  • “...I wanted to be that 2 A.M. phone call of, like, man, I'm ready to come home.” (50:19, Golesh)
• Program Culture:
  • Stresses process over results; “player-driven, not coach-driven.”
  • Takes pride in programs’ transition from low buy-in to meaningful November games:

    “...when we got here, we were trying to get guys to show up to workouts... now we’re in November playing meaningful football.” (57:13, Golesh)

  • Leadership: “When your toughest dude is your quarterback, it’s easy to rally around...” (55:39, Golesh)

Handling "Hot Name" Attention

• Golesh credited his transparency—never hides job rumors from players:

  “I've stood in front of our guys for almost three years now and just told them the truth. I think that's the first principle of building trust.” (60:21, Golesh)

  • No time or energy to focus elsewhere—"be where your feet are."

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Brian Kelly’s Value:
  "Brian Kelly is a great football coach. Like, you can't convince me of that otherwise. You could debate me if you want to. You're going to lose." (05:32, David Pollack)
• Golesh on Rebuilding USF:
  “This was legitimately maybe the worst program in the country. Four games in three years... I'm like, man, you're in Tampa. It's an incredible school... what in the world is stopping you from being really, really successful here?” (45:41, Alex Golesh)
• Halloween Dad Tax:
  "There was always the dad tax. If there's a full Butterfinger... that was mine." (13:54, Brent)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Oklahoma State Coaching/Carousel: 01:43–05:01
• Fired Coaches & Best Fits: 05:01–11:35
• Willie Fritz / P.J. Fleck as Candidates: 11:35–12:14
• Halloween Stories: 12:14–14:45
• Michigan Deep Dive: 16:07–23:56
• Podium Kings (Stoops, Kiffin, Landry): 24:09–26:02
• Alex Golesh Interview (Background–USF): 26:38–63:56

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Tone & Style

True to Pollack’s style, the conversation is high-energy, deeply knowledgeable, and full of personal anecdotes—balancing serious football breakdowns with playful exchanges and authentic coach-speak. Golesh’s interview stands out with its openness and insight about building a winning program from the ground up.

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Takeaways for Listeners

• The coaching carousel is more competitive and nuanced than ever, with fit and personality being as pivotal as track record.
• Michigan’s current form: dominant running game, work-in-progress passing, and a defense with stars poised to make noise in November.
• Insightful, practical look at program culture-building and leadership with Alex Golesh, including honest strategies for navigating “hot name” job speculation.

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This episode is essential listening for college football fans craving honest, inside-the-room analysis and actionable coaching wisdom.

Transcript

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And how about that Polack interception in the end zone?

[David Pollock]

Well, it's David Pollock and I think people are going to learn what kind of ball player he is. He's got a heart of a line.

[Alex Golesh]

I'm real proud of that kid. This is C Ball, Get Ball. College football's top show for football analysis, predictions and coach interviews. Now here's your host, three time All American, seven time Emmy award winner.

[David Pollock]

All right, dudes, welcome on in. It's Wednesday. Getting closer and closer to Trick or treat. That's your ski love. That's how you get down. You got kids. Obviously you're going to be doing that this weekend. Alex Gold joins the show. Really, really good interview with him. I think it's interesting because that's something that you can look for in the future because he might be your coach. Like he's a guy that's a hot name that, that I think is mentioned for a lot of jobs. So in honor of, in order or of honor of that, how about Peyton Thorne? Not that Peyton Thorne. Another Payton says you don't know that for sure. I guess it could be Peyton Thorne, the old Auburn qb, asking about Oklahoma State's coaching gig. But he says, I doubt that. Who do you think will take the OSU coaching job next? Love you guys. Channel big fan. Thank you for being a big fan. Have to get your head checked to see why you're a big fan. But Oklahoma State, interesting job. The job has absolutely changed. I actually spent some time with Mike Gundy recently, which was kind of cool because he's just a cool cat. I went to his farm on his property and it was, it was unbelievable because dude had peacocks everywhere. Like peacocks all over the place. When I got there, Brent, it was actually this week when I got there, he said or I was, I was going, I was. I was going to meet with him. And he was like, hey, give me a minute. I was at the gate. He goes, give me a minute because I got a peacock that got loose and I got to go trap it. And I was like, this is, this is where we're at in life. This is amazing. But Gundy is obviously he built something special as a former player. Now who you're going to get. I don't think Oklahoma State is the job that, that, that everybody's going to. That's going to get paid a lot of money, right. With resources that they have. So you got to go that route of somebody that wants to go prove themselves. And so to me that means Zach Robinson, who is on the list, a guy that shoot. He worked for pff with you guys, right? Didn't he work?

[Brent]

And right now he is calling plays for the Atlanta Falcons. And my guess is that there are a lot of people who are Falcons fans who would be glad and would just help him pack to go to Oklahoma State.

[David Pollock]

And he was a good quarterback at Oklahoma State. Like he had a Good run for McVeigh. Yes, he. He's done a. He did a really good job there. So the name another quarterback alum like Gundy makes some sense to have some ties. Colin Klein to me is another name that you should think about because he played the quarterback position very innovative at A and M. Could probably develop some offense there. You want, you want somebody that can do some offense, but I'll give you one defensive name too. Jim Knowles, who spent time there as a DC for a long time. Penn State just went to a heck in a hand basket. Do you now go and maybe take a head coaching opportunity? He's older but. But has experience there. Maybe that's the last challenge for him or the last thing in his career. But along this vein, let's go in the fired coaches vein because there's. There's just so much going on. I think there's just fun conversation with coaches right now and who's a good fit, who's not a good fit, where are they going to go next? Big names like obviously when Penn State made the hiring Penn State, they thought they were going to be at the top of the line. I think like, they were like, bro, we're getting rid of our guy. We're doing it early now. Like, we're going to go get the pick of the guy we want.

[Brent]

Oof.

[David Pollock]

Sorry, bud. Because Florida happens and then obviously LSU happens and now so it changes the landscape. But like Brian Kelly is a guy that now gets fired, that's out there. Billy Napier, a guy that gets fired, that's out there. So you've got James Franklin, you've got Brian Kelly, you've got Billy Napier, who are proven commodities to an extent. Right? Like Brian Kelly's proven the heck out of himself. Brian Kelly is a great football coach. Like, you can't convince me of that otherwise. Like you can. You could debate me if you want to. You're going to lose. Brian Kelly's a good football coach. Now his personality. Is that a great fit for everybody else to the. No, it's absolutely not. But like Brian Kelly, to me, I would hire Brian Kelly at an Arkansas, I would hire Brian Kelly at a. And maybe not Arkansas actually. Let's take the SEC out of it. Let's. I would hire Brian Kelly. I might be more inclined to hire Brian Kelly at Penn State because to me that might be a better fit. But Brian Kelly is a great football coach who's proven it for a long time. It got sideways. But let's not forget this. Let's not forget Jaden Daniels and company on the offensive side of the football, winning a Heisman, being elite of elite now the defense was elite. Like, it just didn't time up. Like he didn't have the chips fall where they needed to fall. And some of that's his fault with, with who he hired and what he did. But I just don't. I don't think that you can sit here and be like, oh, and I hear people trash and Brian Kelly. That's what people do, right? Like, it's easy. Take shots. That's what people do. It people. Brian Kelly is a good football coach. Brian Kelly, if he wants to coach, will absolutely go find a job, a good job.

[Brent]

Have you seen a lot of the. There's been A lot of former players.

[David Pollock]

Yeah.

[Brent]

Who have don't care P done some piling. I'll say. But I don't know, I, I, that might be one where the job that he would take and what he would kind of command from a salary perspective. I don't know if it's worth the place that you're going because I think you're going to see a lot of these teams that, that don't swim in.

[David Pollock]

Lucrative waters, don't swim in the deep.

[Brent]

End like well, but potentially pay their coach, give their coach more incentive laden type contracts where it's a small, smaller salary, large incentives if you win and then we'll take the rest of it. We'll take it in the money and go put it on the team.

[David Pollock]

But Brian Kelly got the cheddar. He, he's got the cheese. He, he's getting 50 million to walk away. And so at Orgeron which door you want me right. Like he's got the money to go away. So I think Brian Kelly at his age, let's be smart enough to read the room now and let's go. Where can I go Win. Because he left, he left Notre Dame to go win. He wanted to win a national championship. He didn't think he could do it. Marcus Freeman might be saying hold my beer because Marcus Freeman's done just as much right. And as Brian Kelly because Brian Kelly played for a Natty too like when it was a two team deal. But I just think the, the compensation piece that can be offset possibly when you're making 800 plus thousand dollars a month. Like a month, Brent, that's coming in a month.

[Brent]

I have no, I have no fathom of anything.

[David Pollock]

No. But like when you're making that go find the right gig, bro. Like go find the right gig for you. He knows how to coach offensive football. He knows how to, he knows how to win. I just don't think he wanted Cincinnati. Like he built that. It was really, really good. He wanted Notre Dame, he wanted Grand Valley State, I think is where he was to start with. Like he's won everywhere he's been so.

[Brent]

In terms of fit for all these guys, for all these jobs, these, these three big jobs. I, I don't, one of the things I saw was Jacob Hester that used to play at lsu.

[Alex Golesh]

Yeah.

[Brent]

And you know, does TV stuff and he tweeted out the next coach needs to see every opportunity I had in life because lsu, the next coach needs to share that same passion. Our DNA was always mean, nasty and tough. When you played the Tigers, you felt it. It was non negotiable.

[Alex Golesh]

That's.

[Brent]

I think, I think that's he's right about that being the attitude and the fit at LSU and whatever coach brings that I think is likely the coach that fits there.

[David Pollock]

How many coaches bring that nowadays? Like it's, he does. It's not prevalent just about anywhere in the country. Like this is not something that like the generations of these kids have changed. Like. But here's what I know. If you want to talk about who was a good fit and who won me some games like Ed Orgeron won, right. Joe Brady's the reason they won. Like Joe Brady was dialing up ball plays. Like now listen, I would argue I could have dialed up ball plays with Jamar Chase, Justin, I mean like Joe Burrow. Like it was nice. It was a really nice era of probably the most talented offense in the history of college football on one squad. It was absolutely disgusting. So the summer all fit that bill, you know, like because he's obviously he's familiar with the town. But I just think there's like I understand what he's. I love what he's saying and I agree but I'm just saying like there's just not like those kind of guys because of the way that you have to talk to kids now and the way you demand. If you demand of kids too much and you make them practice too much nowadays, like they're going to go in the portal. Like I need to save my body. There's guys that are telling coaches like hey I need to save my body. It's too many hits.

[Brent]

It's going to be fascinating. Three quick fascinating. See if any of these guys as a that get one of these powerful jobs, do you think? Or two. Actually I'll go two. Willie Fritz at Houston and P.J. fleck at Minnesota whose names aren't really being talked about in this rail. Do you think either of those guys get maybe one of these bigger jobs? Because I was just thinking because you mentioned it the other day, like just get somebody to go coach ball. And that's a true ball coach. It goes when you and we were talking about with Fritz when we were talking about Houston, like those guys just go win Willys wherever they are.

[David Pollock]

Willie's done it so much now he's.

[Brent]

Got a five star QB commit too. Yeah.

[David Pollock]

He's also older. I just, I think you're going to look at will it like Willie's an older, older gentleman. You know, do you want to go older now when you just went a little Bit older with Brian Kelly, and it was a bad fit, and it didn't work, you know, so that, that, That.

[Alex Golesh]

I don't.

[David Pollock]

I don't know. Who else did you say? What was the other one?

[Brent]

P.J. fleck.

[David Pollock]

P.J. fleck is. Is one of the best in the country at who he is. PJ knows exactly who he is. He knows how to talk to kids. He knows how to develop. Like, PJ Fleck has done an unbelievable job at Minnesota. Like, but his DNA is definitely developing. Like. So I think he. If I'm PJ Fleck, I want to be at a job that fits my strengths, like, row the boat, like, kids that are going to be here multiple years. Not the transactional stuff. I just. I don't think that's P.J. fleck. Now, he's great coach. I want him at my school, but I don't think you. I don't think LSU is going to go that direction.

[Brent]

All right, let's move on to the. The big thing of the week. Friday night, you mentioned it. Trick or treat. Halloween.

[Alex Golesh]

It's.

[Brent]

It's a big deal. What's Halloween mean to you in three words or less?

[David Pollock]

Not a dang thing. No? Nothing. How about that?

[Alex Golesh]

One word.

[David Pollock]

Nothing.

[Brent]

One word.

[David Pollock]

When.

[Brent]

When you were, you know, like, young.

[David Pollock]

Davey, you can say it.

[Alex Golesh]

Fat.

[Brent]

I wasn't going to say that. Yeah, when you actually ate those type of products, what were. What was. What was your fave.

[David Pollock]

I mean, when I was chubby back in the day, I liked everything. But. But can I give some parents some. Some. Some good. Some good feedbacks of how they. How they get their kids not to eat so much food?

[Brent]

Okay. How about it?

[David Pollock]

So here's what we did with our kids. Call me psycho, call me crazy, call me whatever you want. Our kids went and they racked up. Now we ran from door to door. Like, we literally ran house. We made it as fast as a competition as we could. And we had the kids, like our little. A bunch of the football kids came over all the time, and we went as fast as we could. We made it a race. We made it fun. And then you got this whole suitcase or pillowcase, excuse me, full of candy. And me and Lindsay, my wife, we always bought several toys when they were younger. And we said, hey, do you want the candy or do you want some of these toys? And we bought toys that we knew they liked. It was like, you can keep one or the other, like, whichever one you'd prefer. And every time they took the toy. So how we kind of candy to me has no relevance. It's not good for you. There's nothing good about it. I just, I don't think. I think I try to stay away from as much as possible.

[Alex Golesh]

Like I always use the dad tax.

[Brent]

There's always. There was always the dad tax.

[David Pollock]

Dad tax.

[Brent]

There's a full. Having you in there. If there's a full Butterfinger, there's. Yes, that was, that was very much. That was mine. Go. What was your goat Halloween costume?

[David Pollock]

I was, I was, I was an insane Dracula back in the day. I do I have pictures of that. When I was, when I was a kid, I was, I was pretty with it.

[Alex Golesh]

What about as an adult?

[David Pollock]

I don't dress up.

[Brent]

Haven't done that in a while. No, I've had some good ones recently.

[David Pollock]

What'd you have?

[Brent]

I mean, I. I've done Mr. Clean where I had like the white.

[David Pollock]

Oh, I remember that.

[Alex Golesh]

Yes, yes. That was fantastic.

[Brent]

White pants. I did Joe Dirt one year. Flannel with the cut off sleeves. Had found a wig. Rick Simmons one year. I did that one year, so.

[David Pollock]

Oh, I could see he was a Richard Simmons.

[Brent]

All right.

[David Pollock]

Did you dress up for the clock for your teaching classes?

[Brent]

Yes, I've done that before.

[David Pollock]

That's fantastic. That's awesome.

[Brent]

Joe Dirt was actually. I think Joe Dirt was actually at work one day.

[LifeLock Announcer]

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[Thumbtack/DSW Advertiser]

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[Brent]

All right, Michigan, Something's brewing. We do this every week. We got to talk about it. Talking about the Wolverines diving in. We've dive into one each. One team each week. Last week I think was Georgia Tech. We've looked at usc, we looked at Tech, BYU early in the season. Byu?

[David Pollock]

Yeah. Like a team, a team that like has something brewing, has something going. And if you're looking at Michigan's schedule, there's a really good chance this is. This train is not stopping anytime soon now. This might be like the first. Something's brewing that we do, Brent.

[Brent]

Where.

[David Pollock]

Like, I'm not going to lie. After going back again last night and watching all of Michigan's game against Michigan State, I, I love Bryce Underwood, his potential for the future. It's just not now. It's not present right now. Like, this offense is very much. It's not. It's shotgun exclusive, which I don't think. I don't like shotgun exclusive. I like being shotgun. But like, can we find some ways to mix in some other concepts? I think it's a very smart thing as a play caller, as an offense, it's very one read centric. It's. Bryce Underwood is the best. Has always been probably the best. No, not probably. He's always been the best athlete on the field and he's not anymore, you know, so like he tries to scramble instead of hanging in the pocket and making plays. Now listen, the dude's built almost like Cam Newton. So he's. It's a, it's a freaky level of athlete. But this offense, I thought from where it started, week one, I was like, okay, Bryce Underwood's the truth. Bryce Underwood is going to be the next guy. And right now I'm not seeing that and I'm not meaning that as an insult. I'm not saying the kid's not going to be good. The best part about Michigan's offense is very clear to me. It's Justice Haynes and it's not even close. He is. He is. Brent. I haven't seen a better running back in the country. Like, I'm not saying there's not great running backs. I haven't seen a better one. And I say that because I love his vision. His vision is nasty. He's got great vision, great feel for the position, great Feel for people around his body. Great power, great speed. Like he can hit the home run. He can lower shoulder. He's been playing banged up. Like I just, it's, it's amazing to watch. Like Alabama could use that sucker. He absolutely could use that. They could use that. He had nine touchdowns at Alabama in two seasons. He's got 10 with with Michigan. Like he's over 122 a game. Like he's over 106 out of seven games. This dude's special man. Like he is so good. Alabama would, would benefit greatly from having a guy like that. And to me that's the best part of of Michigan's offense that they've got to continue to find ways to creatively get him the football because otherwise like I think this is an offense that's not ready yet to go by air consistently to beat you they have to use the rpo.

[Brent]

They're one of the highest RPO usage teams. I think it's something that Underwood's comfortable with. It's funny you mentioned owner center stuff. I wrote that note. Would like to see more under center from them.

[David Pollock]

This is how many snaps against Michigan State? Zero.

[Brent]

Yeah. Justice Haynes, 6.4 yards per carry in the first half. Lower 70s rush grade. PFF rush grade. Second half, 7.6 yards per carry. Mid 80s rush grade. Like just gets better as the game moves on. But the biggest difference though watching Michigan over time and especially watching Michigan recently is Marsh at receiver starting to come on. He's. He changes the dynamic at least for their offense. Gives them way more productivity there right now, 21 of 24 targets or 21 of 24 targets. He's caught every other receiver like the top or the top five target guys. So he's 88 reception. Everybody else is 55. Like he just adds a level of efficiency play making the one handed catch he had against Washington unreal. I think Michigan needs to run more counter.

[Alex Golesh]

It's been.

[Brent]

They don't. Yeah enough.

[Alex Golesh]

It's.

[Brent]

It's been the most productive and yards before carry. Their offensive line to me is not good. Really watch it. It's.

[David Pollock]

It's not Michelle. It's not Michigan.

[Brent]

It's not great individual. It's, you know, no minuses. Derek Moore's still doing great things on the, on the defensive line. But in 44. I like watching 44 on the field and 42.

[David Pollock]

They, they.

[Brent]

You talk about fullbacks, new school fullbacks that play.

[David Pollock]

That's all. Yeah, that's. That's all. And they get in that 12 personnel a lot, man. And I think again, they don't have, they don't have receivers that separate consistently. They don't have a rhythm passing game that they can consistently go 1 to 2 to 3. So like they're going to have to mash this up. And here's the trump card. Can, can Bryce Underwood, like you can tote. He can tote the male because of his physicality and size. Okay. When I need him to go in that booth and put that cape on Ohio State late in the season, can I, can I, I can run him 20 times and feel good about it now. And now I get man to man coverage and I take shots and he's good at, he's good at seeing that and taking shots. I like that he understands the matchups, but the, the, the ball that, the short checkdowns and small routes, man, like you better have some stick them on them gloves, bro, because that thing's coming in hot. Like he throws it with some revolutions, bro. So I think that, you know, this team can be dangerous and you know they're going to be in a one Ohio State, one win game playoff scenario. And I think in that scenario Bryce Underwood has to run the football like a madman because the past game, it's not there yet. But you're, but you're right about the defense. The other side of the football that they, I like Derek, they always find a guy like Derek Moore every year. There's always a guy at Michigan that's got close to 10 sacks. You know, like he's just gonna do that and be productive because they're going to be aggressive, apply pressure, they're going to tackle well. The defensive line group is always really physical, really good. You know, they're just, they're always well coached and they always got hyperactive guys that can penetrate and make bad things happen for your offense.

[Brent]

Purdue this week, then at Northwestern, at Maryland, they take care of business. They're 9 and 2 and staring at Ohio State looking to prevent them from going to the Big Ten championship game again. Because that would actually, I think put Michigan, potentially put Michigan in because they would have the tiebreaker depending on Oregon, some other teams. But yeah, yeah, that's, it's all there on the plate. And Michigan fans are probably like, yeah, let's go. Bring it.

[David Pollock]

Yeah, I mean that's what we do. We beat them and the running game in that matchup late in the season, the weather sucks like that. We're going to start talking about that more like the weather becomes an issue. I want to say since 2005. Brent, the team who's rushed for the most yards in that game is one. And Michigan and their run game, like, can they do it again? And if they do, it's Justice Haynes who's, who's their best guy? Marshall's good to 23 is good. 22 and 23 are both good. And then Underwood toting that pill. So it's going to be fun because that week, no matter what Michigan's record was, they'll have Ohio State's attention because Ohio State is sick and tired of those suckers. Sick and tired of those guys.

[Brent]

Very much so.

[David Pollock]

All right, Wesley, are you got. You got more?

[Brent]

No, that was it.

[David Pollock]

All right, that's it. Something's brewing with Michigan. You're going to look up here soon. They're going to be in a position where they, they can win a game and go to the College Football Playoff. That's all you ask as a Michigan fan, but. All right, Wesley, Podium Kings, man, it's all yours. Take it away.

[Podium Kings Host]

You know, dp, Ohio State fans are currently number one on my power rankings for fan bases. You are pissing off the most. So congrats on keeping that streak alive for another week. All right, Podium Kings, we're starting off with Mark Stoops answering a question about going for two late in the game in the Wildcats loss to Tennessee. We talk about analytics a lot here on C Ball, Gate Ball. Sometimes they're helpful and other times they kind of suck. And I think you're going to figure out how Mark Stoops feels about that particular analytics call right here.

[Alex Golesh]

But that's what the analytics book said. And I said, and I want to have time to reevaluate it afterwards. I said, well, that's a stupid book.

[Podium Kings Host]

Our perennial podium king, Lane Kiffin answering a question from my guy Brad Logan, who covers Ole Miss, about Brent Venables saying that Oklahoma is really the better team even though the Sooners lost to Ole Miss. Vintage Lane right here.

[Alex Golesh]

Maybe they had the better team last.

[David Pollock]

Year too when we beat them.

[Brent]

Sorry, yes.

[Alex Golesh]

Following up on the road against Georgia.

[David Pollock]

We had the better team in Oklahoma.

[Alex Golesh]

We beat him 5519 in national championship, maybe.

[David Pollock]

Maybe at the better team at Clemson.

[Alex Golesh]

When We beat him 45:40 in the.

[David Pollock]

National championship at Alabama.

[Podium Kings Host]

DP, I know you're saying that Lane probably doesn't take the Florida job. Maybe he gets enticed by LSU or stays at Ole Miss, but I gotta say, that was pretty spur your esque. All right, our first ever governor on Podium Kings, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry at a state event during the government shutdown, had to answer some sports questions as well. And he says he might get involved with that LSU head coaching search.

[Alex Golesh]

I can tell you right now, Scott.

[David Pollock]

Wood is not selecting the next coach. Hell, I'll let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it. I don't know. But the Board of Supervisors is going to come up with a committee, and.

[Alex Golesh]

They'Re going to go find us a coach.

[Podium Kings Host]

Governor Landry went on to say on X that he is not, in fact, going to get involved with hiring LSU's next head football coach. But look, that frustration is real. Scott Woodward's hired Jimbo Fisher. Historic buyout. Hired Brian Kelly. Another historic buyout. So I think anybody who has an interest in LSU football, you can't blame them if they got the power for wanting to get involved. All right, maybe Jeff Landry comes on C ball. Get ball another time. But today we got Alex Gillesh, the head coach of the USF Bulls with David Pollock. Here you go.

[David Pollock]

All right, next, we're going to welcome in the coach of the USF Bulls. Obviously had a phenomenal season. A phenomenal story that, that I want to hear about with Alex Gollish. Alex, I want to know about your background, man. Like, growing up, we haven't interviewed very many coaches that say, hey, I'm from Moscow. Like, that just doesn't. Doesn't happen very often. Tell me a little bit about your story, your background, how the heck you got where you're at right now, man?

[Alex Golesh]

Yeah, you know, I feel like I've been. I've been telling the story quite a bit, and it's certainly different. It's certainly interesting. I'm proud of it. And it's. It's been a cool journey, man. We. We moved here. My parents literally dropped everything, and we were. We were living in Moscow. Everything was fine. But my parents were adamant about trying to give my brother and I a better situation and moved here in 91. Literally 400 bucks. No place to live, no car.

[David Pollock]

Rich, baby, let's go.

[Alex Golesh]

And my aunt sponsored us. My mom's sister was living in New York, sponsored us. And literally, my dad got a job driving a box truck. My mom started cleaning houses. And that's where we started. I learned what American football was. Playing on the playground, man, Playing in the schoolyard. And I went to summer camp in New York. Everybody sends their kids to summer camp so they stay out of trouble. And met the defensive coordinator at U.S. merchant Marine Academy and kind of attached myself to his Hip. And he asked me to be. Asked me to be a ball boy for him. So we spent a couple of years driving up to Kings Point, New York on Saturdays. I thought those dudes were the baddest. Baddest dudes in America, man. And, and fell in love with it. And it wasn't really until we moved to Ohio. We moved to Columbus about six years later and got to start playing organized football and certainly fell in love with it there. And I think by the time I got done with high school, I was like, man, I want to coach, I want to teach. And ultimately that's how it started.

[David Pollock]

What position did you play?

[Alex Golesh]

So I played linebacker and we ran, ran the triple on offense. So I ended up playing quick tackle and I was a badass tackle now. But all you had to do.

[David Pollock]

Yeah, baby.

[Alex Golesh]

There was no, there's no pass pro element.

[David Pollock]

Not in a triple.

[Alex Golesh]

No, absolutely not.

[David Pollock]

All right, so I want to talk about this so that, so then you go from there. And I just actually called Coach Gundy today because I wanted to know about you a little bit. And Coach Gundy had some, he had some glowing turns from you and obviously go, you started your career next at Oklahoma State. He said, and tell me if this is accurate. He said you were smart, you thought things through. He said whatever he gave to you, you always handled, like just bright. And he said you loved the grind, like you were not scared to work. Is that, is that a fair assessment of when you got to Gundy and then what did you learn from Coach Gundy?

[Alex Golesh]

Yeah, well, you know, so I went, I went from Ohio State, I G8 at Northern Illinois. And then, and then Coach Gundy hired me at Oklahoma State and I was on the defensive side of the ball and coach was, was, you know, this was the year after the. I'm 40, I'm a man. So when I, when I went and I left Northern Illinois to go to Oklahoma State, I was coaching, was coaching the Nichols. I was working on defense, which I had always worked on defense up until I left Oklahoma State, went to Toledo and, and Mike was, when I tell you, the most incredible human being in terms of how he treated young coaches. I think if I learned anything from Mike, and I learned a bunch and I was only there for a year, but never called the GA's analysts and I was an analyst there. Never called them gas, never called them analysts. They were all young coaches. And to this day, every single one of these guys in our. That work here and we've got now in modern day college football, there's there's a bunch. I mean, everybody's got an assistant, there's assistants that got assistants. They're all young coaches. And I think it was the first time for me where I was like, man, like, that's different. Like, I, I am a young coach, man. Like, I want to, I want to go sit around the big table at some point, but treated us like gold, man. And, and for whatever reason, Mike every time he had a question, a defensive question for an offense, he'd come down, be like, Alex. And there the defensive staff was on the, on the bottom level, offensive staff was upstairs. And I marched myself up there and it'd be like, man, you know, red to best concept. And literally it was like an interview every single day walking up there. And, and they had a great offensive staff, but for whatever reason, I kept coming up there and we were really innovative on offense at that point there. We, we were rocking. And so I was like, man, I get to sit in here for a little bit and talk ball with these guys. It was, it was Mike and Joe Wickline was the O line coach and they had a good crew. Man, it was Curtis Looper, Trooper Taylor, Doug Meacham. There's, there's, there's a bunch of guys that I respect the heck out of. And for what, I was like the one defensive guy Mike took a liking to and to the point where we've stayed in touch and, and, but like I said to me, the one thing I learned is, man, like, everybody in that room can add something. And when I tell you in my career, especially when I became a coordinator and, and then certainly as a head coach, some of our best ideas offensively come from the guys sitting around the outside because they're the ones that we're on the road recruiting, we're on the road, we're obviously doing things like this. They're sitting over there watching the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday night game right now and like, like, man, I need, I need a good idea. Like, coach, I got one, you know.

[David Pollock]

Yeah, go get my homes.

[Alex Golesh]

There's no doubt. Yeah, there's no doubt. Like, man, I need something crazy here. Hey, coach, I got actually a cut up of crazy if you're looking for crazy. But like I said, I learned that 20, whatever years ago, or I guess almost 20 years ago. And when I tell you it's paid dividends, it's paid dividends. But he always treated everybody the right way, especially the young coaches.

[David Pollock]

So how the heck do you go from coach being a defensive guy, how do you Transition to the offensive side of the football.

[Alex Golesh]

And why this is a crazy story, I don't know. I don't even know if anybody's ever publicly asked me this. So our defensive coordinator, Oklahoma State, gets the Toledo job. Obviously you're an analyst. It's like, man, full time job. You go, and he had originally hired me to coach the secondary and.

[Thumbtack/DSW Advertiser]

He.

[Alex Golesh]

Was a secondary guy. And you're like, if there's one thing you don't want to coach is the head.

[David Pollock]

The head coach's position group.

[Alex Golesh]

Heck no. You could in your time, you go through the DB coaches at your alma mater, I'm sure you know, like, that's the last thing you want to do. Well, and Matt Campbell and I were really good friends and I'd known Matt for a long time. Matt was our offensive coordinator. He had gotten hired. And coach Beckman, our head guy, knew a million DB guys. He was a DB guy, knew a million DB guys. And Matt, Matt was like, man, you should come over here, coach, coach running backs. We need a running back guy. He knew no running back coaches. I'm like, man, I don't know anything about coaching running backs. Like, I don't know anything about offense. And he's like, I'll teach you. I'll get you. I'll get you. So we went and I wanted to work with Matt. And not that I didn't want to Coach DBs, I certainly did, but I think I would have rather have been in the other room at that point in my life. And again, I G8 for coach and I was actually student coach for coach at Ohio State. Then I was an analyst for him at Oklahoma State. And I'm like, man, like, I think it might be way better over there. I think I also at that point figured out like, longevity of life being an offensive coach in modern day college football is better. And, and this is, this is all joking aside and if you ever get mad on the phone, he would co sign the story for you. So Coach Beck agreed. He was like, all right, man, that sounds great. Like you kind of be my eyes and ears in that offensive room. We had a really young staff. He's like, you be my eyes and ears in there. And it was Jason Campbell was our receiver coach. Scott Satterfield was our quarterback coach. We had a really good young staff. Tommy Manning, who was the ga for us, who's now the tight end coach of the Colts, he was our offense coordinator at Iowa State. With us we had a great, really, really cool staff. And so we sit down like we're about a month out from spring ball, and we're like. We're doing pre spring stuff. And I'm like, matt, again, I don't know anything about coaching running backs, bro. Like, nothing. And he's like. He's like, I got you. I got you. I'm like, tonight, we got to do it tonight. Like, I got to start meetings with these kids. I got, like, I know protection's important, and I know, like, running the ball is important. Like, help me out here, right? And I'm like, 20. I don't know, 23 at the time. Like, so I got my notebook. Sit down. I'm like, all right, Matt. Like, start. It's got to start, like, somewhere, like, stance and start, right? Like, you gotta start somewhere. He's like, you ready? I'm like, dude, like, start at square one. We'll be here all night. I'm good. I just. I can't walk in this room. And they don't think, like, I can go coach dbs. I can go coach linebackers. I can't. Like, he's like, are you ready? I'm like, yep. He's like, all right, ready, recruit one. I'm like, okay, recruit one. I can do that. He's like, and then don't screw him up. I'm like, there's got to be more to it. He's like, no, that's it, dude. Like, that's it. I'm like. And when I. All joking aside, that was when I figured out, like, if you just recruit really good players and don't jack them up, you'd be all right. And. And obviously, I learned there's a lot more to it than that. But, like, no joking. That was our meeting. It lasted five minutes, and I literally went back, and we had some really good backs there, and there's actually. There's one that's still playing, but that was a. That was a really, really good experiment for me, and literally, I went to coaching tight ends, and then Tim Beckman went to Illinois. I went with him. And then Matt went to Iowa State, and I went with him. And that's kind of. I never looked back. But to be honest with you, I think from an offensive perspective, the defensive background, I still very much see it through a defensive lens. When I start watching film, I still. I see offensive football through a defensive lens. I see attacking, whether it's coverages or boxes or, you know, what we've evolved to offensively. Going back to my time at ucf, like, is very much through a defensive.

[David Pollock]

Lens where Knowing what they do and attacking them.

[Alex Golesh]

That's it. Where's the hole? Find the holes. Even the tempo which we play, I think that was the one thing that going back to the Big 12 days in 2008, like teams that played with tempo being on the other side, you couldn't figure it out, you know, and even going back to Mike Leach and Texas Tech, like, they were the first ones that not only spread you out, but also played fast. Oklahoma at that time played fast like it. That. That's what I always wanted to do. And so here we are.

[David Pollock]

Here we are. So you've already mentioned like a million coaches that everybody knows who they are with Gundy and Campbell. But then you go to Tennessee and you work with Josh Hypo and you become the offensive coordinator. What about with Josh Hyple? What did you learn about your system? And now putting speed to it and continuing to evolve it. And now to the coach, you know, that you brought to usf.

[Alex Golesh]

Yeah, so. So there's a step in between. So we. We were at Iowa State, Iowa State for four years. And you know, where Matt is, is so different, is we got to Iowa State, it was, you could argue, maybe the worst job in the country at the time. And matter of fact, we had many conversations about what the hell did you do to all of us? Like. Like, why did you bring it here to Ames, Iowa? And. And Matt, where Matt's really good is Matt always thinks like, man, how can we be different? Like, how is it that we can be different? And we studied Baylor through the Art Riles years of how the heck did Baylor go From Baylor in 2007, 2008 to winning Big 12 titles at the time.

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[Alex Golesh]

They their own version of different. And so at Iowa State, as much as we wanted to play really fast and have really fast dudes and that just was never going to be what we could recruit there. And so we were different in the sense that we played in 12, 13 personnel and we played fast and presented a bunch of different pictures and and Josh gave me an opportunity after my fourth year at Iowa State to come to ucf and and we had studied the Baylor stuff. We had, we had implemented portions of it. We had played fast at times. The some of the past game stuff we incorporated but like we didn't like know it know it. That was the one thing about that that deal is nobody was going to let you in and learn it. You just you studied it and watched it and and when Jeff Lebby left and went to Ole Miss, the OC job was open and Josh gave me the opportunity to come in and the greatest thing that happened there was as crazy as Covid Was for me it was the best thing that could have happened because it gave. I know we were supposed to be quarantined or whatever, but Josh and I spent every day together for whatever that was, five month period. And I give coach Hype a bunch of credit because as good as they were on offense, he's. He is so humble in the sense that man, like, like we, we threw for a bunch of yards, rushed for a bunch of yards, but we were terrible in. In situational football. Third down, red zone. Like some things that man Alex, like where can you help us grow and develop and change and evolve? And through that Covid time all we did was sat there and talked ball and watch ball and talk ball and put. He taught me what, what they had evolved to. And Josh had lived so many lives offensively. He had, he had played in the Air Raid and then, and then ran modern day like zone Reed option game at Oklahoma and coached it and, and then evolved when he went to Missouri and, and then I got there and we continued to evolve and he was so open to continuing to evolve. And then 10 months later, Josh takes the Tennessee job. I go with them and it's like, all right, like, like now what are we going to do in terms of you don't necessarily have better players than everybody else, which at UCF at that time we had better skill than everybody else. We were really good up front. So we had to evolve again. Like how do we win when you're playing, playing the Georges of the world, the Bamas of the world, where guys at least got the same talent, if not better. And so we evolved again and continued to change and change and change. And for those two years we, as we evolved we continued to be able to adapt. One to our talent, but two to the league and the speed of that league and then obviously two years later get an opportunity. And I had no intention of necessarily leaving or I really was never chasing anything. And after that first year had some opportunities to be a head coach. I hadn't thought about it, hadn't really put the time in and I don't know that I was ready just mentally to move again and I wasn't necessarily ready to. I just hadn't put a plan together to be ready. And after that second year I took some time that summer and really put some thought into it and put a plan together and sat down and looked at a bunch of options. We were fortunate. We were good on offense, we were good as a team and had opportunities and, and honestly picked this one for a lot of reasons, but I'm glad I did. Looking for. Looking back at it three years now.

[David Pollock]

So. So you come to. To usf, and obviously we. We've seen the success, and with success obviously comes, you know, more attention, all that stuff, which is all good things. But you said when you got to Tennessee, when you got to Iowa State, you were always saying, how do we need to be different? When you got the usf, how did you need to be different? What did you need to change at that spot?

[Alex Golesh]

Well, I think similar to the Iowa State time, we. We walked in here and I knew what we were walking into in terms of this was legitimately maybe the worst program in the country. They had won four games in three years and whatever, eight games in five years. And I could never wrap my mind around why. I really couldn't. But we at ucf, obviously, we had played these guys and there was talent everywhere. That's the one thing even going back to. And I've recruited down here my whole career. There's obviously between here and Georgia, you don't have to go very far. There's from. From skill to big skill guys to linemen. You don't have to go very far. So I couldn't wrap my mind around. I'm like, man, you're in Tampa. It's an incredible school. You know, this is an AAU school. There's 50,000 students. Like, what in the world is stopping you from being really, really successful here? And when I was coming out of college, this was the Jim Levitt era here. These guys were rolling. That was the Big east days. And these guys were rolling. They were like. They were beating everybody's asses and taking names, and it was. And then fast forward to I walk in here three years ago, and it's not a great situation, but there is alignment from administration. There was a dire commitment to getting it right. And essentially there was this feeling of, I don't know, desperation is the word, but in some sense of, like, man, like the way college football and the landscape is changing, like, if we don't get this right, we're going to be left behind. And that was part of urgency. I mean, a crazy sense of urgency. You can't see it, but out here, I mean, we built a brand new indoor. Our practice facility is incredible. We're building a brand new stadium, which we've shared Ray J with the Bucks for forever. In a year and a half will be in our own stadium. And then we're right in front of it. We're building what I think is the nicest football complex in the entire country. And so you talk about like people right now aren't investing in facilities. These guys are, they're investing in our staff. They're investing in what, what modern day college football is in terms of, in terms of how you fund the program. And they've gone all in, in the sense of letting us hire how we need to hire. I mean from, from the support staff to the recruiting department to how we feed our kids. This is as big time as big time gets. And you look at our staff, we don't have much turnover. Guys have stayed, guys have helped us build and it. And we've recruited at a high, high clip and we've retained at a high clip. And part of that is the culture we've built, but part is simply because kids want to be here. This is an incredible place. It's a beautiful place to live. You know, there's a reason why so many former former NFL guys live here. And it's beyond the weather, the weather's incredible. But, but just everything from a, from a real estate standpoint, financial standpoint, like this is an incredible place to be. And I think it just took the right people to, to tap into it, change the narrative of what this place is. And we, we've built it slowly but surely. But to answer your question, that was a long winded answer. How are we different? I think, I think in terms of offensively or defensively, I don't know that we are, I think we're, we're different in, in this modern day college football. This is the one place that I thought, at least in that cycle three years ago, where you can recruit high school guys and you can develop high school guys and if you do it the right way, all of your emphasis goes on retention. And now we've, we've gone in the portal that, that first year, I mean like we had, we had, I don't know, we had six scholarship alignment here. And I didn't necessarily try to run everybody off. I thought that couldn't be the model. I knew we needed some guys that actually cared about this place and like this place. And some of our best players right now are guys that, that stayed, that hadn't played yet up until that point, but stayed. And I'm glad that, that, that was the approach and we, we took some guys out of the portal. We had to just to have some sort of proof of concept in year one. And then we, we focused so heavily on high school recruiting. And you look at what we've done in this conference, like, we've. We've recruited as good as anybody, and then we've gone into the portal. But our focus in the portal has truly been guys that are from Florida, from Georgia, guys that we've recruited or somebody on our staff has recruited, guys that we've had relationships with or potentially even guys we coached and then bring them home. And that's the other thing about this place is right where we're located, like, everybody recruits here. Everybody. And kids will leave, and then kids will go to. Not to throw places out there, but they'll go up north and they'll be like, holy smokes, it really is 20 degrees here in January. You'll be like, you know what? You know where it's not 20 degrees? Right here, dog. Come on back. And. And that's the one unique thing about this job, is that there are so many kids that leave. We wanted to be. I always joke, but I'm like, man, I wanted to be that 2:00am phone call of, like, man, I'm ready to come home.

[David Pollock]

And your family might not like that, but, yeah. So that's a real thing, though, because I was getting recruited. I got recruited by Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, around here. Like, all around here, Florida and stuff. And I took my official to Ohio State. And I'll never forget, it's the first time I ever was on an airplane. And I was like, mom, what is that? What's all that white stuff? And I got off the plane, I'm like, absolutely not. Like, I'm not. No, no. This is cold. Like. And then God has a sense of humor because I got drafted by the Bengals. So that's. That's a real. That's an absolute real thing. Coach, I've got to ask you about your qb. Like, I just. He's a. He's a. He's a unit man. Like, the dude is an absolute. You watch him last week, hurdling guys off of a cut, and I'm just like, that's not human. Like, he's just obviously a great athlete, but tell me about Byron and just how he's developed, because last year he got hurt, you know, game. What game? Five, I think it was. And like. But now just taken off to a new level and hanging now with. With beating teams like Florida and just putting up points and just being a guy that's just extremely hard to stop.

[Alex Golesh]

Yeah. So B. B was one of those guys. He was. He had redshirted the year before we got here, and, you know, he started his last two games of his freshman year because guys got hurt. And the first time we sat in here and talked, he was like, coach, I'm the quarterback here. And like, man, we had some older guys we brought in a transfer, and I'm like, yeah, we'll figure that out as we go here. And, you know, and, and that first spring, you knew, like, man, this dude's different and physically different. I mean, he's whatever he is. At that point, he was like six, three and a half, 210, and he's now six four. He's 233. And you're talking about in a. In a two and a half year span. But that's how he works. That's how he trains, man. He's. He's become. He's become one of our best leaders. He's become one of our toughest workers, like, on top of being just a tough, tough football player. And, you know, I think when your quarterback is also one of your hardest workers, is also one of your best leaders, and then happens to be one of the most physically tough dudes on the team, you talk about bringing an offense and a defense together. Those defensive guys respect the heck out of him because of the way he plays. And, and like you said two years ago, so he was a redshirt freshman. He put up crazy numbers. And he'll be the first to tell you, like, man, like, it was all happening so fast, and it was like, it was the perfect system for him because it allowed him to. To one, be the athlete that he is, but two, allowed him to run some triple stuff where he can make quick decisions, be really, really accurate with the football. And he would tell you, man, I got so much to grow. And he was coming in the last season with all these expectations nationally and on himself, and then gets hurt. And I think it slowed him down a little bit. I think, like, like my wife tells me all the time, like, dude, is God telling you slow down, like, just relax for a second. And I think as hard as it. That was for him, it gave him time to, one, look at football from a different lens, from really a coaching lens in a lot of ways. But two, I think, made him so much more grateful for just being able to play the game. I think so much, so much at this level now you go, you're just day to day, and there's so many people pulling at you and there's so many voices. And I think it gave him a second to be like, all right, like, I gotta figure this out on my own and go through hard, go through the rehab. And when you get it taken away, and I know you, you've been through a lot in your career. Like, you can attest to this. Like, when you get it taken away, when you weren't ready for it to be taken away, it hits different. And I think for him, it gave him a new appreciation for the game. It gave him a new appreciation for his teammates. And he went into this offseason just on a mission to prove to himself, like, man, I. I'm not just the same player I was. I'm better. And physically, he certainly is mentally. And everybody kept asking all summer, man, like, how do you know Byron's ready? I'm like, man, like, this is the most confident dude walking in this building every single day that I've ever seen. And, and he's the first dude in. Like, like, literally the first dude in. He's literally the last one out. If he ever pulls in here and my car is not sitting in that lot, I'll get a text, like, sleeping in, bro. So that's. That's happened maybe once, but, like, there'd be times.

[David Pollock]

Just to be clear, that doesn't happen often.

[Alex Golesh]

Doesn't happen often. But. But he, but if I'm leaving and his car's not there, like, like, not bye week. That's where you're at right now. It's just a bye week for everybody. And. But he takes it so personally. Like, it. He's. He's become such a strong, powerful voice here, and you know what? He's, like, he's taken it in stride. He continues to play, continues to play at a high, high level. And like, we, we didn't. We lost on Saturday at Memphis. You look at what he did. He gave us every opportunity to go win. And, and he, he was the first cat, literally first cat in here on Sunday, like, ready to watch it, ready to learn, ready to grow, and just got such a cool demeanor about him. Again, I think when. When your. Your toughest dude is your quarterback, he's not the only one. But when physically and mentally the toughest dudes on your team and it's the quarterback, I think it's easy to rally around when you come off the field and you don't score, you punt it, whatever, and the defensive guys are sitting there like, b, we got you, dog. We got you. We're getting you that fight back. And it's genuine and it's real. I think it's really powerful. And he's been that for us.

[David Pollock]

Well, the players know when it's not, you can't fool them, you know that it's got to be players led, like at some point it can't be the, the coach. What else? Because I got to get you out of here. What else do you love about your team? Man, this team, as you continue to go on throughout the season, because you guys have had some high moments, you've had some adversity. Now, like what, what do you love about this squad?

[Alex Golesh]

You know what I think for us and as much as the expectations that have been put on us have been put on us by ourselves, these guys, like, it's been really, really powerful. And we talked at length this morning as a team of where we are, like, like we're in November and we're playing meaningful football. David, when I tell you, and, and nobody cares about the past, but when we got here, we were, we were trying to get guys to show up to workouts like, like just to tell you that we're in November and we're playing meaningful games. Like heck, being in October, late in October, playing meaningful games. We've taken these giant steps as a program and the reason we've taken them is because it has become player driven. And that's the only thing that we've harped on since the day I got here is being process driven rather than result driven. And at some point in this program, it's going to be player driven. And year one, it was as coach driven, as coach driven gets year two, about halfway through it was like, we get it, we understand. And for the first time in our program since I've been here, just about every position group now has guys to point to and say, man, like, be like him. Be, be like him. Where my first year and a half, I couldn't say that in every room. And, and now as we're recruiting these young guys, they've got examples of what it looks like. And I mean, you played at the highest level. That's the only way you can build a sustainable program and to not be transient where guys are coming and going, but truly build guys and develop guys and allowing the older guys to help the young guys develop. Right now, where we are as a program is, it is player driven, it is process driven rather than result driven. And I think we're slowly but surely close to getting over that hump of consistently being able to compete for championships here. And I said it when I, when I got here, like, we're in a race against ourselves to do it. I don't know how long it's going to take. I got no Idea. And right now in college football, everyone wants to want you to do it. Right now. We've, we've tried to do it as fast as we possibly can without taking any shortcuts in the sense that when these guys graduate, there's going to be guys behind them that, that are ready to step in. Like, we're not going to have to go to the portal and go take 25 guys to fill these spots. We're building it the right way and hopefully setting it up for the long haul.

[David Pollock]

So, coach, last question. I promise I get you out of here when, when that, when that happens and you have success now other your name starts to get thrown out there. And I'm not asking you about other jobs, but how do you, how do you handle that within a team? Because you know good and well those players hear it. So, like, how do you tell your team, like, how do you keep them focused with. When they know that there's a possibility of other things in the future? Like just that. That's got to be tough to navigate just personally and professionally with those, with those youngsters.

[Podium Kings Host]

Yeah.

[Alex Golesh]

Would you believe me if I told you. I really don't think it is. Like, I've been so crazy transparent in every single aspect of our program. I've stood in front of our guys for almost three years now and just told them the truth. I think obviously that's the first principle of building trust, is telling the truth. I think we talk so much about what love really means in a program, and love is just being able to tell somebody the truth, truth, being able to accept the truth. I've always been really, really transparent with our guys. Even guys that have walked in and said, man, Coach, I'm thinking about leaving. It's like, cool, man. Like, where. What are you thinking? Like, because maybe it's a better opportunity. Yeah, like, maybe it's a better situation. And if we're guys, there have been guys that have walked in, it's a better situation and I've helped them. There's some guys where I'm like, man, like, you're an idiot. Like, absolutely not Jack this up. And, and the, the goal was to have relationships where, where those conversations can genuinely happen. So for, for our.

[David Pollock]

So what have you said to him then?

[Alex Golesh]

How do you like Dave? I've said nothing. Because the only thing that, that we have talked about as a program is being right here, right now. Like, be where your feet are. I think in again in society, let alone football, like, being present is like the hardest thing because the second I My attention goes somewhere. I stare at this. Like, just be present, man. Like, and I'm, I'm as present as anybody would ever be. Like, the thought of other jobs, other opportunities, like, haven't crossed my mind because I don't have time. Like, there's no time to think. Waste. Well, yeah, like, and I'm not smart enough to be able to think about another job while doing my job job. And I think if you do this job correctly, between the, the players, the recruiting, the scheme, the getting ready for games, doing things like this, which are really important, like, like how, how the hell am I having enough time to think about another job? Like, there's, there's not enough time in a day to think about this one. And so that's the truth. And so there's nothing that I've, I think when, if you address something, there is something, but there hasn't been something. And, and again, you asked me a lot about my. Like, I never chased a job like, ever. Like, every opportunity I've had has come my way and I learned that a really, really long time ago. Like, like, literally be where your feet are and if you do a good job, people come get you. And right now we're incredibly happy. We're in year three of building what I think is something really, really unique and special. And whatever opportunities come, they're coming because these dudes right here have bought into it, have bought into a process driven, player driven program. And so I'm glad people are talking about it because that means we're doing something right. Because the alternative, David, you know this, is that they ain't talking about you, which means you're really close to them talking about you again. Yeah, in a bad way. And so people are talking about us because we've done some really, really special things. We've got, we've got a lot of football left to do some more special things. And, and like that, that bridge when, when it's time to cross it, I'll be transparent as I'll get out with these guys at the same time as I've been all along. And I don't know, I, like, I think when you, you, you sit there and you got to address something with your team, that means like somewhere along the line there was some non, there was a lack of transparency. And I think where we are as a program, there's absolutely none of it.

[David Pollock]

Well, coach, I think it's, it's easy to see why you've been successful. So it's congratulations. Just building relationships, being who you are. Dagum. You've heard from all the coaches you've been spent some time with. You spent a lot of time with great coaches and building your own identity. So congratulations on on all the success man and continued success the rest of the season for you and usf.

[Alex Golesh]

I appreciate it. David. Honored to be on here with you brother.

[David Pollock]

You the man. Thank you so much coach. Appreciate it.

[Alex Golesh]

Thank you.

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[Matthew Collar]

Here of the Purple Insider podcast. Every day I take you inside the Vikings locker room, breaking down every game, every move, and all the ups and downs that go along with following one of the most fascinating teams in the NFL from a beat reporter's perspective. Tune in daily to hear different voices talk about the team, from former football players to analytics experts to fan Q&As. I've even got a fantasy show, all things Vikings in one spot on Purple Insider. Be sure to listen on Apple or Spotify.