Alex Golesh retains Auburn assistant as part of initial staff
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Alex Golesh is keeping on board an Auburn assistant who was initially hired by Hugh Freeze.
Vontrell King-Williams, who joined the staff in 2023, will return for 2026, the program announced on Tuesday. He will remain the Tigers’ defensive line coach.
King-Williams initially was hired as an analyst as part of Freeze’s initial staff. He was promoted to defensive line coach after Jeremy Garrett departed the Plains after a single season to enter the NFL coaching ranks.
King-Williams was on Freeze’s staff at Liberty for two seasons, serving as a graduate assistant and heading to UTSA prior to reuniting with Freeze. He has also had a stint at Eastern Michigan, where he aided in the development of NFL star Maxx Crosby.
Alex Golesh takes over an Auburn program that has put together five straight below-.500 finishes. That’s one of the longest stretches in school history. The Tigers haven’t bowled in back-to-back years.
Golesh will now look to turn Auburn around the same way he reversed the fortunes of South Florida. He was 23-15 in three seasons, including a 9-3 mark in 2025. The Bulls had won a total of eight combined games in the four seasons before he arrived in 2023.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
