AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn hired South Florida's Alex Golesh as its next coach on Sunday, counting on him to revitalize an offense that has ranked in the bottom half of the SEC each of the last six years.

The 41-year-old Golesh, who was born in Russia and moved to the United States at age 7, is signing a six-year contract that averages more than $7 million annually to replace Hugh Freeze. Freeze was fired in early November after failing to fix Auburn's offensive issues in three seasons on the Plains. Freeze lost 12 of his last 15 SEC games.

Golesh went 23-15 in three seasons with the Bulls, a tenure that culminated with USF ranking second in the country in total offense (501.7 yards a game) and fourth in scoring (43 points a game).

"He has produced wins and record-setting results throughout

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