Lane Kiffin is off to LSU, and Ole Miss has handed the keys to Pete Golding.
Golding is in his third season as Rebels defensive coordinator and this will be his first head coaching job. Ole Miss announced it will promote Golding to head coach after Kiffin announced his decision to leave for LSU.
Golding’s first game will be in the College Football Playoff.
Grade: B-
To grade this hire, first consider the situation. Lane Kiffin’s stay-or-go saga held the Ole Miss job hostage, even while the Rebels approached their first College Football Playoff bid.
By the time Kiffin officially pledged to LSU, many top coaching candidates who might have been willing to consider Ole Miss already had been hired elsewhere. Kiffin’s heel turn on the doorstep of the Rebels’ first playoff bid put pressure on athletic director Keith Carter to make a hire who could keep the roster and coaching staff intact for a postseason run. Players can rally around this hire.
In the short term, that makes this a strong move. In the long term, stay tuned.
Golding is a skilled defensive coordinator who trained under Nick Saban. Ole Miss’ best stretch under Kiffin came after he hired Golding to run his defense ahead of the 2023 season. He’s built a reputation for being a good recruiter, too.
This is the zig to the zag of new industry norms. Many Power Four athletic directors have shied away from turning to the coordinator ranks for their coaching hires in the past couple of seasons, as the job of being a head coach is bigger than ever.
And yet it’s worth noting the SEC’s best active coach had no head coaching experience, before Georgia hired Kirby Smart. In the Big Ten, Ohio State elevated Ryan Day from coordinator to coach to succeed Urban Meyer.
That’s not to compare this hire to those. It’s only to say hiring a good coordinator steeped with SEC experience feels like no more of a gamble than hiring a coach from the Group of Five.
Considering Ole Miss’ available moves, this is a fine choice. Re-evaluate in a year or two. For now, this hire provides stability in a moment the Rebels desperate need it.