Grading the hire: Ole Miss promotes Pete Golding to replace Lane Kiffin

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Grading the hire: Ole Miss promotes Pete Golding to replace Lane Kiffin

Blake Toppmeyer and Matt Hayes, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Sun, Nov 30, 2025 ·

4 min read

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L ane 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 .

Toppmeyer: Lane Kiffin torches Ole Miss legacy for renegade's exit to LSU

College football coaching carousel: Grades for each hire, how they fit

Penn State hired Matt Campbell as its next head coach. Campbell, 46, coached 10 seasons at Iowa State and was the winningest coach in school history.

(Nirmalendu Majumdar, USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Kyle Whittingham is finalizing a new deal to be the coach at Michigan after 177 wins in 21 seasons at Utah. Whittingham replaces Sherrone Moore who was fired Dec. 10.
(Rob Gray, Imagn Images)

UCLA hired Bob Chesney as its next head coach, ending the longest coaching search in country of a coach fired midseason in 2025. Chesney spent two seasons at James Madison and led the Dukes to the Sun Belt championship game this season after coaching Holy Cross, where he won five conference championships.
(Bob Donnan, Imagn Images)

South Florida hired Brian Hartline, replacing Alex Golesh, who left to become head coach of Auburn. Hartline has been an assistant at Ohio State since 2017 first as wide receivers coach then offensive coordinator and helped the Buckeyes win the national championship last season.
(Adam Cairns, USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Florida hired Jon Sumrall as its next head coach, replacing Billy Napier, who was fired midseason. Sumrall, 43, spent two seasons at Tulane and two at Troy and led his teams to the conference championship game in each of those four seasons.

(Stephen Lew, Imagn Images)

LSU hired Lane Kiffin as its next football coach on Nov. 30. Kiffin spent six seasons at Ole Miss and led the Rebels to a spot in this year's College Football Playoff, though he won't coach in it.
(Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger)

Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as its next head coach. Franklin was fired earlier this season at Penn State. He replaces Brent Pry, who was fired midseason by the Hokies.
(Brian Bishop-Imagn Images)

Michigan State football hired Pat Fitzgerald as Jonathan Smith's replacement. Fitzgerald coached 17 seasons at his alma mater Northwestern, posting a 110-101 overall record.
(Michael Reaves, Getty Images)

Auburn is hiring South Florida coach Alex Golesh to be the Tigers' next head coach. Golesh is 23-15 in three seasons with the Bulls, with three bowl bids.
(Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images)

Ole Miss promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach after Lane Kiffin left for LSU. Golding is in his third season as Rebels DC and served as Alabama's DC before.
(Justin Ford, Getty Images)

Morgan Scalley is taking over as Utah coach with the departure of Kyle Whittingham following 21 seasons in the job. Scalley, a former Utes defensive back, was an assistant under Whittingham for 18 seasons and coach-in-waiting since 2024.
(Rob Gray, Imagn Images)

Arkansas is set to hire Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield to lead the Razorbacks program. Silverfield is 50-24 in six seasons in Memphis with a fifth bowl appearance on the way.
(Wesley Hale-Imagn Images)

Oklahoma State hired Eric Morris from North Texas to be the Cowboys next head coach. Morris replaces longtime OSU coach Mike Gundy, who was fired earlier this season.
(Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images)

Stanford hired Washington Commanders quarterback coach Tavita Pritchard to be the Cardinal's next head coach
(Eric Canha-Imagn Images)

Colorado State hired Jim Mora Jr. as its new head coach. Mora led UConn to back-to-back nine-win seasons and replaces Jay Norvell, who was fired midseason.
(David Butler II-Imagn Images)

Kentucky moved on from Mark Stoops after 13 seasons and hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein to fill its vacancy. The Kentucky native previously played for Louisville.
(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard)

Iowa State hired Jimmy Rogers as its next head coach. Rogers, 38, spent one year as the coach of Washington State after coaching South Dakota State for two seasons and an FCS national championship in 2023.

(James Snook, Imagn Images)

Kansas State has brought back former player and assistant Collin Klein as its football coach after Chris Klieman stepped down after seven seasons. Klein spent the past two years as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.
(Peter Aiken, Getty Images)

Tosh Lupoi is returning to alma mater California after the school fired Justin Wilcox. Lupoi, a longtime college and NFL assistant, was defensive coordinator at Oregon for four seasons.
(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard)

Charles Huff is the new Memphis football coach after one season at Southern Mississippi after leading the Golden Eagles to a bowl game. He previously was at Marshall for four seasons.
(Matt Bush, Special to the Clarion Ledger)

Connecticut hired Toledo coach Jason Candle to replace Jim Mora. Candle won 81 games in 10 seasons with the Rockets.
(Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)

James Madison moved quickly to hire Billy Napier, a former coach at Florida and Louisiana-Lafayette, after the departure of Bob Chesney to UCLA.
(Matt Pendleton, Imagn Images)

After losing Jon Sumrall to Florida, Tulane elevated offensive coordinator Will Hall to the job. Hall previously coached four seasons at Southern Mississippi.
(Matt Bush, USA TODAY Sports)

Toledo found the replacement for Jason Candle with the addition of Mercer's Mike Jacobs, who led the Bears to consecutive FCS playoff appearances in two seasons at the school.
(Will McLelland, Imagn Images)

Oregon State hired Alabama co-offensive coordinator JaMarcus Shephard as its head coach, replacing Trent Bray who was fired after an 0-7 start this season.
(Jason Clark, Getty Images)

North Texas hired former West Virginia coach Neal Brown as the replacement for Eric Morris, who departed for the head coaching job at Oklahoma State. Brown spent six seasons with the Mountaineers and won 35 games in four seasons at Troy.
(Ben Queen, Imagn Images)

Ohio promoted interim coach John Hauser after the team defeated UNLV in the Xbox Bowl. Hauser replaces Brian Smith, who was fired in December.
(Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images)

After the departure of Jimmy Rogers, Washington State hired Kirby Moore, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Missouri after previous stops at Fresno State and Washington.
(Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports)

Caostal Carolina filled its coaching vacancy after the firing of Tim Beck by hiring Ryan Beard from Missouri State, who led the Bears to a bowl game in their first FBS season.
(Michael Gulledge, Special to the News-Leader)

Southern Mississippi promoted offensive coordinator Blake Anderson to fill its coaching vacancy following the departure of Charles Huff. Anderson was previously the head coach at Utah State and Arkansas State.
(Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports)

Alex Mortensen took over as interim coach of Alabama-Birmingham after the firing of Trent Dilfer. Mortenson was promoted to full-time coach after going 2-4 to finish the season.
(David Butler II, Imagn Images)

Blake Toppmeyer: 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.

Matt Hayes: C

This just screams panic hire. Or hire the guy who knows the team better than anyone, because we've got a group of players who can make a run in the CFP.

Golding is well thought of in the coaching fraternity, a skilled defensive mind who was turning heads at UTSA long before Nick Saban hired him as defensive coordinator at Alabama . But that doesn't mean Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter shouldn't have played it down the middle.

Make Golding the interim, and watch him coach the team in the CFP. See how the players react to him over the course of a few weeks, not a few, drama-filled days. At the same time, see what other coaches are interested in a job that is night and day better than when Carter and Kiffin hooked up to change the culture.

Ole Miss is a legitimate destination job now. The NIL financial support is elite, and the support structure is as good as any in the SEC.

It wouldn't have hurt to at least see who would be interested. That doesn't mean Golding won't or can't be the right fit, it just means you're performing due diligence.

The offensive coordinator hire will be critical for Golding. He has to build an offensive staff that will keep players from jumping into the transfer portal, including QB Trinidad Chambliss ― who was recruited and developed by Charlie Weis Jr. (now with Kiffin at LSU), and who is petitioning the NCAA for a fifth season of eligibility.

And just in case it isn't obvious: LSU needs a quarterback for 2026.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ole Miss promotes Pete Golding to replace Lane Kiffin. Expert grades for coaching hire

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Grading the hire: Ole Miss promotes Pete Golding to replace Lane Kiffin

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Blake Toppmeyer: B-

Matt Hayes: C