Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding didn’t hold back when it came to explaining how the coaching staff will work for his Rebels team amid their College Football Playoff run.
The team rose to success under Lane Kiffin and his coaching staff, becoming a Top 25 team and a CFP contender throughout their season. However, Kiffin shockingly opted to take a new job as LSU’s head coach before the Rebels’ first CFP game.
While Kiffin still receives bonuses for the team’s success, he was prohibited from coaching them in the playoffs, and defensive coordinator Pete Golding took the job. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. also returned to help Golding on the sidelines, even though he is leaving Ole Miss to become part of Kiffin’s staff next season.
On Saturday, Golding spoke with reporters ahead of his team’s next CFP game, a Fiesta Bowl semifinal against Miami, with the winner advancing to the championship.
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The first question that came up for Golding at Saturday’s media conference was how things will work with his assistant coaches as the CFP continues, and how much involvement Kiffin will have in the planning, since some of the assistants are joining his LSU staff.
“Communication has been constant the entire time. So, like, you know, everybody does this. Everybody’s 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 with Alabama, that we went to the playoffs, we had coordinators and assistants that had other jobs,” he said.
“The idea is the same guys that have coached the positions all year will do that in this game like they have up to this point,” Golding indicated.
A follow-up question for Golding arrived, asking if all of the members of his staff who are “employed by LSU” will continue to coach through the National Championship.
“They have every opportunity like they have up to this point, to be able to make that decision. 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,” he said of Ole Miss’s coaching staff for the rest of the CFP.
After a massive blowout of Tulane, 41-10 in the opening round, Golding coached the Rebels to a thrilling 39-34 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl. Having staff consistency likely helped, although quarterback Trinidad Chambliss also came up clutch on several big plays that initially appeared they might not work out.
Next up, they take on a gritty Miami team in the Fiesta Bowl for the CFP semifinals. The Hurricanes, behind a fierce defense, have achieved back-to-back upset wins over the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Despite all the drama and circumstances surrounding the Ole Miss coaching situation, the team has performed admirably, and one has to credit Golding for guiding the Rebels to success in just his first month as head coach.
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