Within just two months of bringing Alex Golesh to the Plains, the Auburn Tigers are looking like a serious program. It’s something we haven’t seen since 2013, and certainly not in Hugh Freeze’s tenure. For the Tigers’ new man in charge, culture is everything and more, and he’s ready to go any miles to protect it.

“My job daily, coming in here, is to make sure the entire program is at a standard,” Golesh said on the Locked on Auburn podcast. “And I joke about it, but like every day, take your gloves off, and you are in a complete and utter 12-round bout to protect the culture of this place. Which is why I think sometimes maybe I don’t necessarily care about what the other side of the forest looks like. All I care about is right now, I’m gonna protect our culture in every imaginable way.”

Alex Golesh’s main mission during his tenure at Auburn is to build an identity, and that starts with building a culture. This has been one of the biggest problems of the program ever since they won the National Championship in 2010. But since Golesh took charge of things, Auburn football seems to be gearing up to break free from its losing slump. He has been vocal about installing a cultural change since the first day of spring practice.

“I told the coaches yesterday, as another reminder, what you allow becomes your culture,” he told the press. “Make sure whatever we’re doing, from the way we look to the way we walk out here, to the energy that we take the field with, to how we run off the field, on the field, whatever we allow from the very beginning becomes the culture of your program. It’s really hard to change as you go.”

Golesh stressed this because he’s seen success with his methods in the past. The USF Bulls went on to feature in the AP poll rankings briefly during the season because they no longer operated with that mediocre mindset. Golesh said last year that his team had no room for the “here we go again” mentality. That is exactly what needs to be attacked at Auburn.

The Tigers’ head coach has promised that Auburn will be the “most violent freaking team” and the “hardest working, toughest, grittiest program” in the country. The first order of business for him was to get a team that he could identify with. He brought 39 new faces, including 13 transfers who followed him from South Florida. To ensure this new culture doesn’t lose its Auburn touch, Golesh built a coaching staff that blends his trusted inner circle with program legends. He convinced former Auburn national champion Kodi Burns to serve as Associate Head Coach and also act as his right-hand man. He doubled down and retained defensive coordinator and interim head coach DJ Durkin.

To make sure everyone is aligned with this mantra, Golesh also hung a new slogan all across the locker room and facility.

Auburn Tigers’s slogan for success

Alex Golesh is not one for empty slogans. He made that clear when he said, “What’s the difference between s*** on a wall and how you actually go about your program?” For Golesh, actions matter much more than words, and he wants his players to focus on what they do every day rather than what they say. But there is one mantra that resonates within him, and he also wants his team to adopt it.

“Be who you say you are” rings loud during Auburn’s practices this years.

You can see it all around the team’s practice facility. The meaning behind it is simple and direct. Players often talk about their goals, like being leaders, working hard, or helping the team win. But Golesh wants them to go beyond just talking.

“Every single person that comes into this program says they want to do something. It’s easy to say it in an air-conditioned room, it’s easy to talk about it. Being who you say you are is living it.”

He first started using this phrase when he first started coaching at Iowa State, and it stuck with him since then, over the years. The phrase also helps teammates hold each other accountable in a simple way. If someone is not giving full effort or not doing what they promised, others can remind them by saying, “Be who you say you are.”

Golesh’s first big task to check off his to-do list this season is to change Auburn from inside out. This job will be his biggest test as a head coach, since only a genius can revive a program like the Tigers. It seems impossible, but is doable when the right person comes to lead it. Will Golesh be that man?