Baptism By Fire: New Ole Miss Head Coach Pete Golding Facing Challenges Head-On While Guiding Rebels on Playoff Run
OXFORD, Miss. — It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Pete Golding. First, he helped guide Ole Miss to the College Football Playoffs as the Rebels’ defensive coordinator before then being appointed the Ole Miss head coach for what could be a deep run to the National Championship game.
It’s a proud achievement for Golding, but he hasn’t had a lot of time to think about it. With signing day the first week of December, the transfer portal opening in just a little over two weeks, staff changes, and the upcoming playoff game against Tulane, it’s been a baptism by fire for the new head coach since he was announced as head coach on November 30.
Forming Closer Bonds with the Offensive Players
Since moving from defensive coordinator to head coach, Golding has placed an emphasis on building a stronger connection with the offensive players. Despite knowing the players on that side of the ball, he had never really sat down for deep conversations with them, focusing previously only on the defensive unit.
Golding is enjoying getting to know them more and loves their mentality.
“It’s been awesome for me because I knew we had elite people on defense, as far as from a character standpoint and competitive standpoint, from the recruiting aspect of it. But it’s been really cool to see the offensive mindset and how good of dudes we have over there.“
Pete Golding
Not only has Coach Golding been talking ball with the offensive players, but over the last two weeks he has also been discussing their thoughts on their roles and how they see the program in the future. Golding has the tough job of preparing for the playoffs while also convincing offensive players that Oxford is home in 2026.
“So I’ve tried to bring everybody in one by one. We’re still working through that, haven’t met with everybody yet, to kind of get a feel, you know, how they feel about the situation, mentally, kind of where they are right now–some things they like about the program, some things that they would change about the program if they were in charge to kind of get a feel for 2026. But it’s been awesome to get to know them on a more personal level.“
Pete Golding on getting to know offensive players
Big Months Ahead for Pete Golding
The playoff game against Tulane on Saturday, December 20, is foremost on Coach Golding’s mind. However, within a college football calendar that is far from ideal, he faces plenty more challenges.
After managing to keep many of the 2026 recruiting class, Golding still needs to address some coaching staff roles for 2026. On top of that, there is the transfer portal that opens on January 2, 2026. In his recent presser, Golding said, ‘I’m good-player heavy’ when asked whether he would be transfer portal-heavy, as his predecessor was, or focus more on recruiting high school players. So, there’s no doubt he is monitoring all aspects of the recruiting landscape.
As a new head coach, Coach Golding will be tested. He is going to have to use all his coaching experience and resources to navigate through a busy few months. But he impressed as the DC, and it feels like he will be the perfect choice to be a successful head coach at Ole Miss.
Jordan Merritt
Jordan is a freelance writer who covers sports, games, and more. A United Kingdom native, he covers everything Ole Miss for The Rebel Walk. He has written for several publications, including Athlon Sports, On SI, Fansided, and others. Away from writing, he loves spending time with his family and watching films and TV series.
