Pete Golding Details Leadership, Development and Recruiting Philosophy as Ole Miss Continues Spring Practice

OXFORD, Miss. — Earlier this week, head coach Pete Golding spoke to media following another day of spring practice. 

Golding didn’t have an opening statement; instead, he jumped right into questions from the media, touching on   all things recruiting, player development, and coaching.

Leadership

Last Friday, defensive coordinator Bryan Brown told us he is asking more defensive players — like Will Echoles and Kam Franklin — to step up into vocal leadership roles. Golding followed that up by saying he wants “by example” leaders, because listening to the wrong guy can have many effects.

“I do think there is a comfort zone at first of making sure we know what to do, to know the expectation, the culture we want to create. I think some guys are natural at it, and some guys aren’t,” Golding said. 

He also pointed out that, for now, some positions will be coach-led, as there are many new faces in some of these rooms. He wants to develop them as much as possible before summertime hits and players begin player-led practices.

Golding on slowly developing new players into leaders

Towards the end of his statement on leadership, he made it clear: “The ones that can (lead) definitely will. For those who can’t, we will have to make sure, from a coaching perspective, that we give them the leadership they need. “

Team Health

Coach Golding noted that spring is often the time when a lot of guys get injuries fixed up. He noted that he pushed spring practices back to give players time to have walkthroughs after recovering from injuries, and how important that is, especially to newer guys on the team.

– Golding on pushing spring practice back

He also stated that the team was “pretty healthy” before explaining why players were wearing yellow jerseys on the practice field. These players are only allowed to participate in the walkthrough components of practice to prevent further injury.

He also broke down the reasoning behind colored jerseys, which got laughs around the room.

“So, some of the injuries are different. So, it was always hard for me as an assistant coach. He’s like, ‘All right, damn. Little Johnny can do indie, can’t do scale, he can do insider.’ I was like, ‘Bro, I’m a D2 guy. I need colors, right? Like, help me out.’ So, that’s why we did it,” Golding said on using the yellow jerseys for injured players.

Player Development

Golding touched on multiple groups and their development. The first one was the development of the offensive tackles and how he sees that area playing out.

– Golding on offensive tackles

Golding also would go deep on his first seven on the defensive side of the ball. He noted some of the holes in their game last season as to why he went after certain guys in the transfer portal this go around.

He said, “I mean, obviously, we try to get longer on the edges. You know, I think we missed a lot of sacks last year when you go back to it. And I think finishing at the quarterback at the top of the rush is really important, and length obviously helps that. And then the C area run game was a little bit of an issue at times, right? So, we wanted to get a little bigger on the edges, too, to be a little stronger at the point of attack.”

He continued explaining that depth was another reason for what he sought out in the portal. He mentioned the game against Miami as an example of why having rotational pieces matters.

– Golding on rotational pieces on defense

He also touched on the guys on the back end of the defense.

Pete Golding on the back end of the defense

When asked about some of the mid-year freshmen, he shouted out multiple players and said that out of the whole team, they might be the biggest improvements.

“The biggest improvements come from them, 18- 19-year-old kids, right, that hadn’t been in a real nutrition program, hadn’t really been in a real strength and conditioning program. So, I think they take the biggest steps,” Golding noted.

Golding on the freshmen development

Golding was asked whether he would do spring practice differently and hold OTAs where coaches could be out there, similar to the NFL.

His answer was detailed:

“Yeah. I mean, I would just love, like, all right, here are your number of days, but like don’t put it in a window, right? Like from I put a helmet on and now from that day I have 34 days to get them all in to where let us use that based on our program and whether that goes into June and July you know who cares right the numbers not more right it’s the same amount of number but we could structure it differently to the progression right could be a little slower for some of these younger guys and all those so and I think that’s a model that’s going to get there you know does that make sense I mean it’s already hey here’s your eight hours a week all right here’s your eight hours a week in the summer and then now here’s just this one little window I think you’ll see the window spread, right? And use it from the spring and summer standpoint, however you want. And you progress and put on helmets and pads as you want to do that. You know, to me, that’s always been the struggle. You want to have spring early, and then you go all this time until August, and they don’t touch a helmet, don’t touch a pad, to where it should be a progression up to that, right? And let’s, you know, be in the right mindset, right, when we show up for camp instead of now every time you’re starting a new cycle, here’s a three-day acclimation period and all this. Like, let’s build to it as we get to it. So, I think there’s a model in place that will get the vote, but I think you’ll probably see that sooner than later.”

Coaching

Golding moved up in the coaching world when he went from the Rebels’ defensive coordinator to the “head ball coach,” in his own terms. With more power comes more responsibility. Golding made it clear that he brought offensive coordinator John David Baker back to run the offense, while Golding will be making the defensive play calls this season. Golding mentioned his involvement is primarily on the evaluation side for the offense.

“I do think it’s really important from an evaluation standpoint of our pieces and making sure that we are using all of our pieces effectively based on what they can do, not what they can’t do. And then I think, you know, the game’s changed, too. I mean, if you’re going to invest in players, you better have a role for them, right? And you better not be taking guys that don’t have a skill set, right, that can produce this fall,” Golding said. 

He then also cited the importance of retaining quarterbacks coach Joe Judge to assist with the offense this upcoming season.

Golding on Judge’s importance to the offense

Golding would even touch on managing all of his responsibilities to prepare and run the team.

Golding on managing everything as the head coach

Golding was asked about his coaching influences on his career, and he mentioned multiple mentors. He emphasized a philosophy of focusing on actions that lead to success “because of” intentional decisions, rather than winning “in spite of” ineffective habits. He prioritizes eliminating anything that doesn’t contribute to winning or player development.

Ryan Day influenced his technical growth, including his scheme, teaching progressions, and position group management. Nick Saban shaped his understanding of organization, accountability, and the importance of stable systems that sustain success despite staff turnover. Overall, he combined lessons from multiple mentors, emphasizing structure, discipline, and delegation as keys to consistent winning.

— Golding on coaching philosophy

He also discussed at length the colleagues he chats with about coaching. He mentioned coaches like Dan Lanning (head coach at Oregon), Steve Sarkisian (head coach at Texas), and Mike Locksley (head coach at Maryland). He highlighted that these relationships are important for learning and growth, helping you develop your own playstyle.

– Coach Golding on who he contacts to learn and grow as a coach

Recruiting

Golding touched on recruiting, among the many other things he discussed during the press conference. He first mentioned bringing recruits to campus to observe actual practices, team meetings, and other activities, as he feels it is important for these players to see the work being put in firsthand.

“I think it’s really important for a recruit when they come in to sit in a meeting with the current players. I could sit in here, and we could get up on the board or do a Zoom, and anybody could anybody, but the interaction of the player to the coach, right, with the guys that you’re going to play with, I think, is really important to me. And then, you know, to me, I always want to be able to see us practice, see the tempo of practice, and see how we practice from a development standpoint, right, to correct guys,” Golding said. 

He even compared picking a college to a business decision for recruits, as all players are trying to go pro one day. He also mentioned that over 120 kids have attended a meeting or watch an Ole Miss practice.

– Golding’s message on why he likes to bring recruits on campus

Golding also gave his opinion on how telling recruits you are gonna do something affects recruiting, using personal experience from when he first came to Oxford.

– Golding on “we’re gonna” when talking to recruits

He also discussed that, at a program that recruits, certain things are the standard, so recruits don’t have to come here because someone else will. He even describes it as a “what have you done for me lately type of business.”

“The expectation here we’re going to do it with or without you,” Golding said. “We want you, and that’s why you’re here, but don’t get it twisted, you’re replaceable, and I’m replaceable, right? So I think you know when you start checking the boxes off, and you’ve done that very recently, then, I think it is obviously very important from recruiting, but you, what have you done for me lately business.”

He ended the press conference on the importance of seeing people accomplish these goals in the eyes of recruits.

– Pete Golding on the importance of recruits seeing a program’s success

What’s Next?

Spring practice continues this Friday with no practice viewing for reporters, but media will meet with offensive coordinator John David Baker and players. Stay tuned for more coverage!