Alex Golesh set to hire former SEC defensive coordinator to Auburn staff, per report
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Alex Golesh will be taking over on the Plains for the 2026 season, and his first Auburn coaching staff is continuing to take shape with the hire of former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler.
The news of Hutzler heading from Starkville to Auburn was reported on Tuesday afternoon by Matt Zenitz and John Talty of CBS Sports. But Hutzler, who directed the Bulldogs’ defense the past 2 seasons, wouldn’t be leading Auburn’s defense in the same role after he was fired by Mississippi State over the weekend. Instead, the CBS Sports report said Hutzler would be serving under Golesh as the Tigers’ edge rushers coach.
While Hutzler was at Mississippi State in 2024 and 2025, that is just the tip of the iceberg to his SEC background. He’s also been a part of the coaching staffs at Alabama and Ole Miss, and South Carolina and Florida are a part of his coaching past as well.
Hutzler was an assistant at Texas in 2020, long before the Longhorns joined the SEC, but the point is that he would be heading to Auburn with quite an extensive knowledge of the conference.
The Plains is reportedly set to be just the latest stop in his SEC tour, with Golesh trying to start his time there with a bang after being hired away from South Florida.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
