Pete Golding, the Hammond native who inherited the Ole Miss job after Lane Kiffin bolted for LSU, turned Wednesday’s session into the buzz of the week. Golding won SEC media days on Wednesday, trumping the rest of the field in the affable, engaging department, even sprinkling in some self-deprecation. Asked what’s changed since his defensive coordinator days, his answer was blunt: he’s just thinner now.
The setting mattered too. Commissioner Greg Sankey introduced him by running through the winding road that got him here — a coaching start at Delta State, stops at a string of far-flung programs, and eventually a rise to defensive coordinator at Alabama. Sankey even worked in a personal touch, noting the Goldings are a golfing family, and that Golding spent part of this summer caddying for his 11-year-old son, Bentley.
From there, Golding didn’t play it safe. He brought unfiltered candor to the podium, addressing his relationship with Kiffin head-on, the tampering allegations swirling around the program, and Ole Miss’ high-stakes outlook for 2026. He admitted he and Kiffin still text regularly, waving off any suggestion of bad blood. He said he probably shouldn’t say it but didn’t care — and made the case that nobody in Oxford has any real business being upset about how it all played out, given where the program ended up. On the tampering questions specifically, he essentially dismissed the rules as silly, then doubled down with a blunt “damn right” when pressed — adding that otherwise, you’re going to get hit.
He wasn’t afraid to get salty doing it, either — tossing out a stray curse word about barnyard manure, in a bit of a nod to Nick Saban’s recent unfiltered moment on “College GameDay.” With his mop of gray hair and beard, Golding looked like a Labradoodle had wandered into a purebred show — and it worked in his favor.
On substance, Golding got into the actual state of the roster. He said the first priority amid all the offseason turmoil was retention — getting a strength and conditioning coach hired was step one. He also praised a group of former Ole Miss players now on staff — the Terrence Metcalfs, Michael Spurlocks, Moncreifs and Marcus Woodsons of the world — for the relationship-building and personal investment they’ve poured into this year’s roster. Turnover was steep: the Rebels brought in 50 new players this spring alone, 29 via the transfer portal and 22 out of high school, with a handful more added in May pushing the final count to 51. Golding was careful to note that every season stands on its own — last year’s team and its legacy are over, and this is a new group building its own identity.