TRANSCRIPT: Pete Golding on Grit, Composure, and Why This Ole Miss Team Isn’t Done Playing Yet

OXFORD, Miss. — Coming off one of the most emotionally charged wins in program history, Pete Golding met with the media Saturday as Ole Miss turned the page from survival to preparation.

With the Rebels now four quarters from a national championship game and a College Football Playoff semifinal matchup looming against the Miami Hurricanes, Golding acknowledged the grit it took to beat Georgia while making it clear that this team is far from satisfied. What followed was a wide-ranging, candid discussion on culture, composure, staff continuity, roster dynamics, and why this group, even after everything it’s endured, is still hungry to play.

Here’s everything Coach Golding had to say:

Coach Pete Golding’s Opening Statement Saturday, Jan. 3

COACH GOLDING: Obviously, it was a great performance by our guys. Didn’t play perfect but found a way not to flinch and found a way to come back and win the football game, which was our goal.

We talked about going into it, it’s an opportunity to go compete and play for another opportunity for the legacy of this team. And like I said over there, I don’t think our guys are tired of playing yet. And just really proud that they created another opportunity for themselves to be able to play in the Fiesta Bowl versus verses another good team in Miami that we know we’re going to have to play really well.

So, we came back that night right after the game, got back really late. Yesterday was their day off. We just finished our Monday practice, which was more of a walkthrough format. Put the previous game to bed and doing the scouting report on Miami.

So, excited to get to work on these guys. Looking forward to the challenge.

Q. Coach, I’ll get the elephant out of room real quick. What is the plan for the staff? How many assistant coaches will you have with you? And what has your communication been like with Lane [Kiffin] on that?

COACH GOLDING: Yeah, communication has been constant the entire time. Everybody does this. Everybody is targeting us on this. There’s multiple teams that have coordinators, that have other jobs, they’ve taken head jobs everywhere else. Every year that I was at Alabama that we went to the playoffs, we had coordinators and assistants that had other jobs.

So all they’re doing, they’re doing two jobs. They have a responsibility to the next institution they’re going to work out. It’s the portal, the recruiting, they’re doing other things. They’re still doing the game plan prep, will be in the practices, and all those types of things.

So it’s a big thing with the play callers and people with significant roles, from a practice standpoint, to make sure those guys are at their practices.

But the idea is the same guys that have coached the same positions all year will do that in this game like they have up to this point.

Q. Okay, so just to be perfectly clear, every staff member you have who is employed by LSU will continue to coach with Ole Miss through the national championship?

COACH GOLDING: They have every opportunity, like they have up to this point, to be able to make that decision. So, week in and week out, I don’t dictate whether they do that or not because they’re not employed by me. Up to this point, that is how it’s been, and that’s my expectation.

Q. Pete, sort of a portal question. But with Austin [Simmons] hopping in, how are you treating players who enter the portal? I imagine, are you letting them play in the playoff, even if they’re in the portal?

COACH GOLDING: I think every case is individual of its own. So, I think we’ve got a lot of guys that have done the same thing the entire time, like hey, we’ll finish this 2025 season out the right way and finish what we started. And then like I’ve said from the very beginning that I got this job, everybody, once the season is over, is going to have decisions to make. Are they at the right place? Are they in the right system? Are they getting developed right? And all those types of things, both players and coaches.

So those individuals, obviously, that want to finish what they started are going to do that and have every opportunity, like everybody else is going to in their fiveday window whenever our last game is, to make decisions in their best interest.

So, for those guys, any issues, whether they’re in the portal or not and they’re creating team issues, then obviously, they’re not going to play in teams like anybody would do and does do.

So, no, their intention is to be able to finish this thing out the right way. And then everybody has the opportunity, like every student athlete in the country right now, to weigh their options and do what’s best for them.

Q. You guys, obviously, saw Carson Beck a couple times when he was at Georgia. Can you take anything from those previous meetings? Or does new offense and teams completely change the scouting report on the guy?

COACH GOLDING: No, I mean, I think you always study the past of people to try to get tendencies of things on them. No different than when you’re playing a different offense or a different defense. You’re looking over the history of what’s created problems for them and what’s been issues and what they’ve done really well and what they have not done well.

So that goes for every quarterback. So, there’s some familiarity to play with him, but he’s very experienced. He’s been very successful everywhere he’s been. He’s always had that team competing at a championship level and being in the playoffs.

So, we expect nothing different. A guy that has a ton of experience, that’s calm, has got really good composure, has a good understanding of the system at this point, that’s really wellcoached by Shannon [Dawson]. So, we know we’ve got our work cut out for us.

Q. Hey, Coach. Congratulations. I was just wondering your thoughts on, if this was a fourteam playoff to start off with, I think three of the teams that are playing now in the semifinals wouldn’t even be in the field, and this 12team playoff has allowed that.

Can you just talk about the opportunity that the expanded playoff has provided multiple programs to show, one, that you’re worthy of being in there? But also there’s a lot of teams out there that can win a national championship these days.

COACH GOLDING: Yeah. In my experience, when I started with Division II, it was a 32team playoff, that we made quite often and made some good runs and played in the national championship, as well. The key to that, at that point, was getting hot at the right time. And you had the opportunity for young players and transfer players to develop early through it.

And then by the end of the year, when these games are actually occurring, and then evaluating where everyone is at. That was the big thing, at that level you couldn’t lose late. It really impacted you.

So, I think it’s a really good concept that your teams that are playing really well towards the end of the year are the hottest teams that are allowed to be able to go in there and compete for it. Because the bottom line is week 1 and week 12, most teams are completely different and they should be. Some are better; some are worse, barring injuries or anything else.

And so, I think for the opportunity to have more guys to be able to compete for a championship, like most other sports, I think it’s really good for college football.

Q. Would Pete Golding like to see 32 teams in the playoff?

COACH GOLDING: I don’t know about that. But I think I’m kind of on the Vegas mindset of, all right, who’s our top teams? They’ve got a real shot at this, and let’s go compete for it.

But no, I think every year, somebody’s going to have something they don’t have. Like, let’s add that. You start lengthening the season, and you have to start talking about bye weeks and all the other things to it. I think it’s pretty close right now.

Q. I have a quick question, Pete. When are y’all going to be leaving out? And then as far as Austin [Simmons], it’s kind of a unique situation for y’all or for him and how he’s handled himself through the whole thing. What’s your take on how’s he’s handled it? The maturity of it? And the uniqueness of the situation with him and Trinidad [Chambliss].

COACH GOLDING: Yeah, we’re heading out two days prior. So for Sugar Bowl, you had to go three days prior. For the Fiesta Bowl, we’re going two days prior.

But for Austin, I think he couldn’t have been more professional about the whole situation, the emotions of what that went through. No different than [Jaxson] Dart. Last portal season, this time last year, he was sitting with me at all of our recruiting dinners with defensive players because he was the leader of this team and he was the starting quarterback. And he was recruiting players on both sides of the ball to make our team better, to try to make a run for a championship.

So, he’s invested so much into this place and unbelievable personality and has worked his butt off. Obviously, unfortunate to get banged up early and had a really good backup behind him that was playing too good to be taken back out.

And so, I admire what he’s been there through. I try to give him the example when I was at ‘Bama, Jalen [Hurts], and Tua [Tagovailoa]. When Jalen got pulled at halftime in that national championship game, and Tua goes in and had a lot of success. And the way Jalen handled that all the offseason and going into the next season, watching Tua start now, and Jalen could have transferred that first year and didn’t. And then Tua gets hurt in the third quarter of the SEC Championship versus Georgia and we’re down.

And then because of how Jalen handled it and his maturity and still prepared like he was a starter and was ready for his moment, he came in, brought us back, and we won the SEC championship.

And so, I think he’s kind of had that mindset the entire time. Hadn’t had a bad attitude about it. He knows when he watches the tape that Trinidad is playing at an elite level. He’s playing like the starting quarterback. And at any point, at any level of football, something can happen to that guy, and that next guy’s got to be ready to roll. And we have all the confidence in the world that he would be ready to do that. And I think that becomes emotional for anybody at any age, you know?

And so, I think sometimes things happen and people want fresh starts, and let’s start this thing all over and go see what happens. So, I couldn’t admire him more about how he’s handled the situation.

Q. As far as Trinidad’s [Chambliss] waiver, I’m not necessarily asking you to make the case or anything, but are you surprised that it’s taken this long to just get any  like, there’s still no clarity or anything.

COACH GOLDING: Yeah, nothing surprises me anymore. That’s the only thing I can tell you now.

So obviously, it affects a lot of decisions of who you’ve got to go get. And it affects a lot of their decisions. Obviously, you’re recruiting quarterbacks. But do I really want to go potentially behind who I think would be the frontrunner for the Heisman or not?

So hopefully, we’ll know sooner than later, but that’s out of my control, so I’m not concerned about it.

We’re recruiting right now like he’s playing in his last year of eligibility, which he is right now, and then we’ve got to go find a quarterback.

Q. And then last thing. How is Caleb Odom doing? I know he had his arm in a sling. Just how is his shoulder? And other injuries that might have come from the Sugar Bowl.

COACH GOLDING: Yeah, he was banged up going into it. And he got a little banged up again. We had our injury report today; today was a walkthrough. But he’s clear to practice this week, so we’re fully anticipating being able to use him in the game.

Q. You’ve mentioned your time at Alabama a couple times now. Mario [Cristobal], obviously, spent time on Nick’s [Saban] staff, as did the other semifinal coaches, Curt [Cignetti] and Dan Lanning. I’m curious about your time at Alabama and your experience working with Nick, the impact that it’s had on your philosophy that you’re developing now as a head coach. And if you see some of those similarity things in how Mario has built his program?

COACH GOLDING: Yeah. I mean, I think number one, when you learn from Coach Saban, you better go out and recruit really good players. And so, I think they’ve done that pretty consistently on both sides of the football. I think you see size, speed, which always is kind of a Coach Saban thing, big people beat up little people.

And so, I think especially out front on both sides of the ball, I think you see that physicality and the toughness component, especially with Mario being an offensive line guy by nature. I think they do a really good job on the front, so on both sides of the ball.

And then there’s a discipline component that Coach Saban always lived by that I think a lot of times, they’re not going to beat themselves and don’t make undisciplined penalties and all that and play sound football. And you’re going to have to beat them; they’re not going to beat themselves.

I think you can see a lot of that. And I think most people who went through and were fortunate enough to be around Coach Saban understand, number one, life blood of the program is recruiting. And then you’ve got to have sound schemes on both sides. You want to keep stability within those schemes for the development of players. And there’s a toughness component, a competitive character component to hold these guys accountable and hold them to a high standard. And I think that’s pretty consistent with whoever is playing right now.

Q. Just curious, what’s impressed you the most about the response from your guys over these past couple games, given all the change internally? And then, maybe some of the external noise that’s been going on with the program as well?

COACH GOLDING: Probably their energy and attitude on a daily basis. And I know I’ve mentioned this several times, but I think at this point in the year, the season gets long and things get stale and guys get tired of playing. And they’re looking ahead to whatever it might be, the draft or where’s my next school or I miss my family and all those things.

I just think these guys show up every day and are excited to go to work and prepare and get better and have the opportunity to go out and compete and try to win a football game. And I think that’s pretty unique.

And then, I think the other thing for them, they don’t flinch. There’s a grit and toughness about this group to where, regardless of the talent level, regardless of what happens, whether we fumble and it’s a scoopandscore, whether we have a bust in the coverage, whether we mismanage getting out of bounds when we should or not, there’s not a panic. And there’s a spot the ball, let’s play the next play, let’s learn from it, let’s not get too high, let’s not get too low, and let’s go out here for the next 30 minutes and outphysical our opponent and execute really well, and then let’s look at the scoreboard at the end. If we do that on a consistent basis, I think we’ll like what we see.

I would say those things. And it’s a group, to be honest with you, even outside of football, that you really enjoy being around. It’s a really good group of guys. They’ve got good personalities. They enjoy being around each other. It’s a group that we kind of joke and play around a lot that I think kind of breaks the monotony up as well.

I just think it’s a really unique group that some of our best players are our best leaders with the best attributes, being work ethic and energy and attitude and how they affect the people around them.

So, I think it’s a very unique group on both sides of the ball that play for each other and enjoy playing, and it’s been pretty cool to be a part of.

Q. Could you take us back to Trinidad’s [Chambliss] first day of practice getting starting reps before the Arkansas game? I heard he really wowed the entire team.

COACH GOLDING: Well, if it was getting ready for Arkansas, I was on the other field. They were going against the scout team. I could take you back to fall camp to when our one defense was having to go against our two offenses, which Trinidad was the quarterback, and we did not do a very good job of stopping him or affecting him.

So I saw very early his management and his control of the offense and then had elite arm talent, really good decisionmaking. I thought he did a really good job throughout camp of taking care of the football.

And then, I think one of his best attributes is the ability to extend plays. And there’s times he’s going to keep his eyes downfield like he did the other night, and he’s got elite accuracy on the move. And there’s times he sees matched concepts, and he’s going to tuck it and become a runner, and I think he’s an elite runner.

But for me, it was more of his composure, probably than anything. And he doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get to low, doesn’t get rattled. But he’s a natural competitor. He’s playing to win and that’s what I’ve always loved about him.

But I think talking to those guys after that week, it’s just the command of the huddle, and there’s no nerves. And being able to walk in and guys gravitate to him, and that’s just naturally his personality, whether he’s playing football or he’s in the room talking to you guys. I mean, you’re going to want to be around him. There’s something about him. There’s a moxie there that you want to follow.

Q. Sorry to harp on this, but I just want to make sure I have the information accurate. What is the backup plan if they can’t coach, and when will you know?

COACH GOLDING: So, we’ve hired  we’ve got a lot of coaches here. That’s the one thing about Division I football. This building is filled with guys that have been elite coaches everywhere they’ve been. And so now, once they’ve eliminated the rule to where there’s not ten coaches, as long as they’re employed here, you can have a million coaches that can instruct on the field.

So, at every college across the country, a lot of guys that y’all don’t know by name are actually the ones instructing and teaching players. And so we have an elite staff here that’s been together for a long time that knows the ins and the outs. No different during COVID, when a coach that couldn’t show up for the game, that happened the entire year that we won the national championship. There’s multiple guys in every room all year that have been around them, know the system and all that.

So, these things obviously come up every year, and guys try to do both jobs, and they have responsibilities with the new job that takes precedence, especially in times like this, and when they can make both work, they make both work. If they can’t, they can’t.

So, we’ve got plenty. That will not be any reason for our success or lack of success within this game. The play callers haven’t changed. There’s people in every room. Our players know what to do. It’s going to have no impact on the game.

But y’all can keep blowing it up and making it a big deal. It would be great.

Q. And when will you know?

COACH GOLDING: I don’t know. Do you know if you’re going to show up at work tomorrow? I mean, we don’t know. It’s grown people making decisions. So, I have no idea. So, we’re going to go out there and spot the ball, and we’ve got plenty enough people in this building that showed up this morning. We’ll be just fine.

Q. Zxavian Harris looked like another guy that got a little dinged up in the Sugar Bowl. What can you share about his status?

COACH GOLDING: Yeah. I think when you play Georgia, and when you play in the Sugar Bowl in the playoffs, you’re going to get dinged up, especially versus teams like that. And we’re going to get banged up in this game, too, especially versus teams like that love to run the football, and we have to be physical up front. I thought he played one of his better games.

So, this time in the year, you’re going in to, what, week 15? you’re not going to be perfect. Not everyone is going to be healthy. Pat does an unbelievable job in the training room, and we’ll get those guys back.

And you’ve got to take care of him a little bit from a practice standpoint to get him to the dance, but he’ll be fine. He’ll be his normal self.

Q. Coach, just to follow up on a quick question from earlier. I want to ask you about how special this group of guys is. We see Trinidad [Chambliss] praying with his mom. We’ve seen guys praying in the end zone.

Talk about this culture. We saw it at the Egg Bowl. We’ve seen it all season, the adversity they face. What makes this group so special? What makes them different from other groups you’ve been around?

COACH GOLDING: Yeah, I mean, I think it’s a great point you just brought up. They’re very centered. And what I mean by that, they’re not looking for the attention. They know where the glory comes from or who they’re trying to glorify. I think Jared Farlow, head of our FCA, does an unbelievable job with these guys, with the staff, with our team throughout the week developing a message for these guys that they follow.

And I think that goes back to recruiting, to be honest with you. I think when you go through the recruiting process, so many guys get caught up in just watching the tape and go off athletic ability and speed and all those.

But you want guys that are wired the right way, but also have a morale about them, that are good human beings. And sometimes I think that gets lost in today’s age of sports.

But I like being around good people, and we’ve got a locker room with a lot of good dudes, and they just so happen to be tough, competitive, and good football players on top of it. And they know who to glorify and they know who they do it for, and everybody’s different on all that.

And I’m not saying we’re pushing anything or all that, but if you were to walk into our optional chapel services, there ain’t many empty seats, and I think they know what it’s about, and Jared does a great job to be able to help these guys.

Q. I was wondering if you had any early thoughts on Miami’s defense and some of the challenges they might present.

COACH GOLDING: Trying to focus on the offense right now, to be honest with you. But we’ve had some carryover. I popped them on for a little bit. I think really talented up front. Very physical at the point of attack up front. Got speed on the perimeter, talent in the back end.

I think they know who they are. I think they’ve got a philosophy. They’ve got some coverages that complement their base ones that they run, but very sound.

I think what stood out to me was the energy, effort, and toughness, snap in and snap out. They’ve done a really good job. We’ll have our issues with that up front. We’ll have to know where some of those guys are and take advantage of the matchups on the backend when they present that opportunity.

But probably as talented as a group that we’ve seen that plays really physical.

Final thoughts:

As Ole Miss shifts its focus to Miami and the Fiesta Bowl semifinal, the message from Pete Golding remains steady and unmistakable: this team is built for moments like this. Not because the road has been smooth — but because it hasn’t. Through uncertainty, change, and relentless pressure, the Rebels have stayed grounded, connected, and hungry. They don’t flinch. They don’t panic. They spot the ball and play the next snap.

And now, with everything they’ve endured shaping who they’ve become, Ole Miss heads into the playoff semifinals not just chasing another win — but determined to extend a journey this group isn’t ready to let end.