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Ole Miss coach Pete Golding prepares for Miami and considers the possibility of coaching the College Football Playoff Semifinal numerically disadvantaged.
Golding said LSU will ultimately decide which, if any, of the assistants who have committed to join Lane Kiffin in Baton Rouge will be cleared to coach for Ole Miss in next week’s Fiesta Bowl.
Several key coordinators and assistants agreed to contracts with LSU shortly after Kiffin left the Rebels, including offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., tight ends coach/co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox and wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator George McDonald.
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Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding raises the Sugar Bowl trophy after the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2026. (Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“They have every opportunity, as they have had so far, to be able to make that decision,” Golding told reporters on Saturday. “So, week to week, I don’t dictate to them whether they do it or not, because they’re not employed by me. So far, that’s how it’s gone, and that’s what I expect.”
OLE MISS QB TRINIDAD CHAMBLISS: “A LOT OF PEOPLE DOUBTED US” WHEN LANE KIFFIN LEFT
Ole Miss can win the program’s first-ever national title if the rebels can win two more matches. ESPN reported that at least some of the assistant coaches who are in limbo would prefer to stay with Ole Miss as long as the team remains alive in the postseason.
Golding stressed that the uncertainty would not disrupt preparations for the Fiesta Bowl.
“Our players know what to do,” he said. “It won’t have any impact on the game. Just keep blowing it up and making a big deal out of it, that would be awesome.”
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (right) talks with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. during warmups before a game against the Georgia State Panthers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. (Pierre Thomas/Imagn Images)
He also acknowledged that he does not know when he will receive confirmation regarding the availability of assistants.
“I don’t know. Do you know if you’re going to show up for work tomorrow? I mean, we don’t know. These are grown people making decisions, so I have no idea. We’re going to go out there and scout the ball. We have enough people in this building that came this morning. We’ll be fine.”
Ole Miss will also end up losing senior analyst/passing game specialist Dane Stevens and graduate assistant Sawyer Jordan. at LSU. Nonetheless, Golding remains confident in his team, which he says is “filled with elite coaches everywhere” who can handle their respective responsibilities.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Pete Golding is drenched with a Gatorade cooler by his players after their game against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2025 Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at Caesars Superdome. (Geoff Burke/Imagn Images)
“A lot of guys whose names you don’t know are actually the ones who instruct and teach the players,” he said. “So we have an elite staff that has been together a long time and knows the ins and outs. So, it’s no different than during COVID, when a coach didn’t show up for the game.
“These things obviously happen every year, and guys are trying to do both jobs, and they have responsibilities with their new job that take precedence, especially in times like this. And then they can make both work. If they can’t, they can’t. That wouldn’t be a reason for success or failure in this game. The point guards haven’t changed.”
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Before the upset victory in the Sugar Bowl, Golding guided Ole Miss to the first-round playoffs. victory over Tulane.
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