As Pete Golding commenced the initial week of his tenure as a head coach, he undertook an noteworthy action.
This involved receiving a fresh hairstyle.
Such an act might appear insignificant, as countless individuals regularly visit barbers. However, for observers tracking Golding’s progression to Ole Miss, anticipating his first game as head coach this Saturday in the College Football Playoff, trading his customary untamed hair for a more refined, short cut could subtly but significantly indicate the considerable responsibilities he now bears.
“Pete understands the requirements of this role,” Rick Rhoades, Golding’s previous collegiate coach at Delta State, communicated to Yahoo Sports recently. “When functioning as a defensive coordinator, typically stationed in the press box, and your lead coach maintains a high public profile, your personal presentation can differ. Conversely, as the central figure of an athletic program, a distinct public image becomes necessary. I believe Pete is highly conscious of this distinction.”
Following weeks of uncertainty regarding Lane Kiffin’s future, which concluded with his move to LSU after Ole Miss’ final regular season game, Golding ascended to the permanent head coaching position largely by circumstance. Given Kiffin’s exit, the imminent playoff schedule, and the absence of a viable window for an extensive coaching search—as many obvious candidates for Ole Miss had already been secured elsewhere—athletic director Keith Carter swiftly concluded that the optimal path for immediate CFP success and future stability lay with Kiffin’s former defensive coordinator.
This scenario presents a dual perspective for Golding. Does it impose significant pressure to achieve a lengthy playoff presence, starting this weekend with the sixth-ranked Rebels’ home contest versus American conference victors Tulane? Or might this be considered an opportunity without much to lose, considering the tumultuous period Ole Miss has endured in the past month, marked by numerous assistant coaches managing dual roles and Golding personally shifting from solely defensive oversight to overall team leadership?
Pete Golding was the defensive coordinator at Alabama and Ole Miss before becoming the Rebels’ head coach. (Jeffrey Vest/Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Determining this is challenging, as no one in college football history has initiated their head coaching career under such immense stakes. Furthermore, contemplating Golding’s humble beginnings, the likelihood of a 41-year-old individual from Hammond, Louisiana, attaining this distinct, nearly unbelievable status is virtually incalculable.
“I never imagined it, truly,” commented Frankie DeBusk, who brought Golding on board for his inaugural full-time coaching role in 2007 at D-II Tusculum University. “There were multiple individuals I employed whom I more readily pictured contending for such a prominent head coaching position than Pete. Yet, his journey exemplifies the outcomes possible when one is prepared to leverage their knowledge optimally and remain authentic to themselves.”
However, what truly defines Pete Golding?
Despite his presence in major SEC football programs since 2018, starting when Nick Saban recruited him from UT-San Antonio to become Alabama’s defensive coordinator, he has remained simultaneously pervasive and relatively unfamiliar.
In contrast to the individual he replaced, whose online presence often resembled a televised drama, Golding’s engagement on Twitter/X is limited to sporadic shark emoji posts, seemingly referencing the “landshark defense” moniker linked with Ole Miss approximately ten years prior. His public record lacks extensive interviews delving beyond strategic football discussions. He has not undergone the typical preparation, common among elite assistants, to cultivate a public persona designed to attract the notice of athletic department leaders.
Prior to this point, Golding likely appeared to many supporters more as a conceptual figure or an internet meme rather than a fully realized individual; a defensive genius whose scruffy beard and unruly, silvering hair—alongside a charge for driving under the influence following the conclusion of National Signing Day in 2022—could have fostered an image akin to an perpetual college student.
It’s possible that, at certain moments, this perception held some validity.
“Oh, those anecdotes are off-limits,” chuckled David Duggan, who served as Southern Miss’ defensive coordinator when Golding joined as the defensive backs coach in 2014.
However, this rugged appearance belies both his earnestness and capabilities, as attested by individuals familiar with him since his early days.
“He stands out as among the most concentrated people I’ve encountered,” stated Rhoades, who effectively brought Golding to Delta State as an incidental addition alongside two other athletes he was recruiting from Hammond, a community situated between New Orleans’ northern outskirts and Baton Rouge. “Our assessments always prioritized internal qualities over physical attributes. Thus, we recognized Pete possessed exceptional qualities. He consistently appeared to anticipate situations ahead of others.”
Uncertain about his path post-playing career, Rhoades persuaded Golding to remain as a graduate assistant. Coincidentally, Rhoades had contacted Ron Roberts, now recognized as a former defensive coordinator for Baylor, Auburn, and Florida, who recently accepted a role on Ryan Silverfield’s updated staff at Arkansas.
Yet, in that era, Roberts was instructing at a high school close to Fresno, California, following a period at Tusculum where he collaborated with DeBusk. Rhoades, whose offspring also served on the Tusculum team, persuaded Roberts to depart California and assume the defensive coordinator position at Delta State.
It was at this juncture that Golding’s nascent professional journey started to develop.
“Ron was instrumental in instructing Pete on defensive coaching methodologies,” Rhoades recounted.
Roberts had acquired knowledge of the 3-3-5 defensive scheme from Joe Lee Dunn, an esteemed defensive coordinator with tenures at both Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and Roberts subsequently conveyed this expertise to Golding. Upon the conclusion of Golding’s internship and his readiness for a permanent role, DeBusk appointed him as the defensive backs coach at Tusculum with a salary of $27,000.
The following year, Golding was promoted to defensive coordinator, implementing his adaptation of the 3-3 stack formation as Tusculum advanced to the second round of the D-II playoffs.
“We employed that defensive strategy, frequently blitzing and utilizing extensive man coverage, which demands considerable bravery from a defensive coordinator,” DeBusk explained. “However, Pete possessed immense confidence in his approach and instilled belief in our athletes. While coaches frequently move on, Pete simply possessed a unique quality. I mean, he still exhibits it presently. It’s an intangible, isn’t it? Occasionally, you guide exceptional players without being able to articulate precisely what makes them great; they just have that innate ability. Pete embodies that characteristic when it pertains to coaching. He simply possesses it.”
Nevertheless, Golding’s trajectory didn’t appear to be a smooth ascent toward prominence. Progressing from Tusculum, returning to Delta State for a few seasons, then moving to Southeastern Louisiana and subsequently Southern Miss, it would have been difficult to envision a career path culminating in a head coaching role within the SEC.
Remarkably, at that juncture, Golding did not even employ a representative.
“He felt no necessity for one,” Duggan remarked.
This situation shifted after Golding’s tenure at UTSA, where he developed a defensive unit that ranked within the top 10 for fewest yards surrendered in 2017. By then, agents were actively pursuing him—among them Jimmy Sexton, who managed many of college football’s most influential figures.
This network facilitated Golding’s significant transition from UTSA to Alabama, despite Nick Saban having no prior direct communication with him before a rapid recruitment process that concluded with Golding and Tosh Lupoi jointly managing defensive coordinator responsibilities for the 2018 squad, which suffered a decisive defeat against Clemson in the national championship contest.
Right away, and consistently afterward, Golding faced scrutiny from Alabama supporters whenever issues arose. The intensity of this criticism was such that Golding’s father, Skip—himself a former coach—contacted “The Paul Finebaum Show” more than once to speak in defense of his son.
During autumn 2022, Skip Golding went so far as to issue a threat to “Legend,” a frequent caller to Finebaum’s program, in a situation emblematic of the SEC’s unique environment.
“Provide me with his location,” Skip Golding asserted. “I will confront him directly, as I possess no fear. My origins are in southern Miami.”
It is likely not by chance that Skip has maintained silence subsequently. Indeed, no member of Pete Golding’s family, including his paternal and maternal figures and sibling, responded to inquiries for interviews from Yahoo Sports.
Upon his departure to join Kiffin’s Ole Miss team following the 2022 season, a prevailing sentiment among the SEC community suggested that Alabama was not unduly displeased by his exit, especially after a few seasons where defensive statistics were rather ordinary. The veracity of this remains uncertain; Saban has never confirmed any strain in their professional bond, and Golding has consistently stated that personal motivations (specifically his wife’s ties to Mississippi) influenced what appeared, at best, to be a parallel career transition.
This shift has proven to be an advantageous position. Indeed, Golding is now situated such that his extensive connections within the state could yield significant benefits, especially as supporters unify in opposition to Kiffin.
“His work in recruiting within the state has been exceptional,” stated Duggan, currently the head coach at Jackson Academy. “If you were Lane Kiffin, you’d visit high schools accompanied by Pete, because he had already established groundwork and built rapport. Lane performed well, but he lacks that specific relational element. Pete personally cultivated all those connections. He’s an exceptionally personable and intelligent individual, and the high school coaches universally hold him in high regard. He will undoubtedly receive backing from every high school coach in the state, I assure you.”
A distinct epoch already appears to be dawning in Oxford. During his inaugural press conference as head coach, Golding declared that despite evolving job duties and compensation, “I will not alter my identity, nor will I modify my attire. Engaging in yoga or playing pickleball, I am not participating in any of that [profanity]. My true self remains constant.”
Individuals intimately acquainted with him find this assertion credible.
“He possesses remarkable stability,” DeBusk commented. “He is an extraordinary individual because he never allows extraneous factors to affect him. He never has. He genuinely enjoys coaching football, being among athletes, and positively influencing their existence. When presented with strategic planning, his expertise is unparalleled. He is truly unique in his ability to connect with young adults aged 18 to 22. Concurrently, he can engage in conversation with Ole Miss’s most significant benefactors or the woman employed in the dining hall. He possesses this inherent talent and refrains from presenting a false image.”
Amidst the ferment in Oxford surrounding Kiffin’s imminent exit, Golding messaged DeBusk, recalling their past at Tusculum when they visited the Moose Lodge in Greeneville, Tennessee, for post-victory celebrations.
“He conveyed, ‘Coach, this is gratifying, and I’m accomplishing many significant feats, yet I experienced equal enjoyment during those earlier times,’” DeBusk recounted. “But that epitomizes him. He is likely currently dressed in a creased T-shirt. He makes no attempt to present himself as anything other than who he truly is.”
The truth is, Golding’s unrefined nature will either resonate exceptionally well or terribly, contingent upon Ole Miss’s performance in the upcoming CFP and in the subsequent few seasons. While his tidy new hairstyle might suggest an initial inclination toward managing his public image, introducing Golding into the SEC’s head coaching echelon ought to infuse new vitality into a sport perpetually seeking distinctive personalities on the sidelines.
“He exhibits significant differences from the coach he succeeded, and I state that without positive or negative implication, but he will not attempt to impersonate anyone other than Pete,” Rhoades asserted. “I would be utterly astonished if he were not unequivocally true to himself.”
