Ole Miss elevates Pete Golding: Rebels DC will become permanent coach as Lane Kiffin departs for LSU

Ole Miss will not look to have a full scale coaching search after Lane Kiffin's departure for LSU. Instead, the  the Rebels will elevate defensive coordinator Pete Golding to the full-time position, the team announced Sunday.

"Coach Kiffin and I met yesterday, and he informed us that he is accepting the head coaching position at another school," Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said in a statement. "For our program to begin preparing for its future -- both the short and long term, he will be stepping away from the team immediately. With this development, we could not be more excited to announce Pete Golding as the next head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. His tenure will begin immediately as he leads our program in the pursuit of a national title. Today's team meeting was a clear indicator of his ability to galvanize our squad. All of our players and coaches are ecstatic and ready to lock arms for a playoff run."

Players were told Golding would be "the guy" in an afternoon meeting in which they were informed officially that Kiffin was leaving for Baton Rouge. 

Golding has been the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in Oxford for the past two seasons after serving in the same roles for Nick Saban at Alabama from 2018-2022 -- where he first worked with Kiffin. The most immediate question for Golding is who of the current Ole Miss staff will stay with him in Oxford, and who will leave with Kiffin for LSU. Initial reports indicated much of the offensive staff will join Kiffin, but we await official word on who exactly will be going where. 

How Golding's hire impacts Ole Miss in the Playoff

There are long-term concerns, but with the Rebels in the midst of their most successful season in decades, the immediate priority is keeping everything on track as they prepare for their first College Football Playoff.

Golding's hire should alleviate many of the committee's questions about whether we'll see the same Ole Miss team we've seen all season. Some have compared the Rebels' situation after losing Kiffin to Florida State in 2023, when the Seminoles lost their top two quarterbacks late in the year and were left out. That was not only a unique injury scenario, but it also happened in the four-team Playoff era.

An 11-1 Ole Miss shouldn't have had any concerns about making a 12-team playoff, but keeping things in-house with Golding could also help preserve a first-round home game.

Who stays with Ole Miss and who leaves for LSU?

This is a question for both coaches and players. We'll find out which of the former are joining Kiffin in Baton Rouge soon, as he reportedly told assistants they can either leave with him immediately or they won't have offers later.

There's an expectation that some of the offensive staff will follow Kiffin to LSU, but Golding can still make a push to retain select Rebels assistants by offering larger roles and salaries than they'd receive in Baton Rouge. Neal McCready of 247Sports reports those offers are already being made as Ole Miss tries to hold things together as best it can.

Once the CFP ends and the transfer portal opens, we'll learn how large a rebuilding job Golding will face with this roster. The Rebels were already aggressive in the portal under Kiffin, but if he's able to bring some of his top players with him to LSU, Golding's task of keeping the roster at a Playoff-caliber talent level becomes even tougher.

The two biggest names the programs will battle over are quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (pending an eligibility waiver) and running back Kewan Lacy. But the competition won't stop there. Expect overtures up and down the roster, especially on offense, as Kiffin looks to hit the ground running at LSU with players who already know his system.

The portal window will mark the first showdown between Golding and Kiffin -- with the on-field meeting to come next fall, when Kiffin brings the Tigers to Oxford.