Ole Miss coach Pete Golding has led the No. 6 Rebels to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff after defeating the No. 11 Tulane Green Wave in the first round and the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. The Rebels will face off against the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday.
Golding has had to deal with both the departure of former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and several of his staff members, some of whom have stuck around to help the Rebels during their fairytale playoff run.
Pete Golding Takes Shot at Lane Kiffin After Coaching Departures
During his news conference before the Fiesta Bowl, Golding confirmed that Charlie Weis Jr. would be among the coaches to remain with Ole Miss. He further revealed that Joe Cox (tight ends coach) and George McDonald (wide receivers coach) would depart for LSU, taking a subtle dig at Kiffin, who is dealing with several Tigers players in the portal.
“They have another job that is paying them, and they have a responsibility, and at this time, the way the calendar is now… they have 35 guys that are in the portal, and they have to build a team,” Golding said. “Do they want to be here? You’re damn right they do. But they’ve got a job to do, and they’ve got to build a team where they’re at.”
“John Garrison, our offensive line coach that we’ve had all year. We have our running backs coach, Kevin Smith, that we’ve had all year. We have our offensive coordinator (Charlie Weis Jr.) who calls the plays here. He’s been here all year.”
Kiffin caused ripples in college football when he allowed several of his coaches to return to Oxford to help his former team during their playoff run, despite signing contracts with LSU after his departure.
During his news conference before the Fiesta Bowl, Golding sent a defiant message to the departed Kiffin when he was asked about the team thriving despite the controversial coach’s absence.
“I don’t have a message for anybody else,” Golding said. “I think our team had a message. They had a message by how they prepare and how they play. And that they weren’t tired of playing.”
“I think the message is that I’m replaceable, you are replaceable, our players are replaceable. I think you want to build a program to where it’s heading in the right direction and one person or one player is not going to derail that.”
Since being elevated from defensive coordinator to head coach of the Rebels, Golding has racked up two College Football Playoff wins, more than Kiffin has managed in his storied career and according to PFSN’s College Football Playoff Meter, Ole Miss has a 48.2% chance of reaching the national championship game.