No. 6 Ole Miss is nine days away from its first College Football Playoff appearance against Tulane.
On Thursday, Ole Miss coach Pete Golding met with reporters to talk about the Rebels’ upcoming playoff game, as well as the coaching hires that were announced this week. Here’s everything he said:
Opening statement…
“What’s up, fellas? Yeah, so we took this week as a normal week. We kind of structured these two weeks like the two weeks prior to the Egg Bowl. Before the announcement, obviously, we didn’t know if we were going to play on Friday or Saturday, so we had a bye week prior to the Egg Bowl, so, you know, kind of what we do it around here.
“Mondays are walk-throughs. We introduce the scouting report and some issues and things like that. Tuesday, we go full pads, have a full practice, kind of our meat and potatoes.
“Wednesday are shells, which we did yesterday, and then on Thursdays, we do it as a mental sweat, so it’s a no-sweat Thursday, so we come in and meet, and then we go walk-through. We do that in four different parts, which we completed, obviously, about an hour ago. And then tomorrow will be what we call a fast Friday, get them really going.
“It’s a move-the-ball period from backed up all the way to low red zone. Give them Saturday off, and then we’ll come back in Sunday, and we’ll mimic another real game week just like we did this week. So, did all of our preparation this week from all the situational from third down to red zone and base downs, and we’ll come back and re-hit it again next week like we haven’t hit it one time. So, kids have been locked in and focused. It’s been a really good week up to this point.”
On hiring John David Baker as offensive coordinator next season…
“Like we talked about the other day, I think stability and systems are very important on all three phases. And obviously, a lot of these guys in this locker room were recruited to play within this system, and I think more importantly, know the terminology and the language of this system. And I think retention, obviously, is the biggest component of recruiting right now, and they’ve had a lot of success in this system.
“It’s done really well here. Obviously, scored a lot of points and won a bunch of football games. So, having been around it the last three years, I knew from a defensive standpoint the issues that it presents.
“I love everything about it, so we want a stability in the system, number one, for our current staff, for those guys that we decided to stay on, and then number two, for our players, for the retention in the locker room. And with JDB, I knew him personally, obviously, working with him in 23, knew what type of coach he was, knew what type of person he was, knew what Ole Miss meant to him, and for him to go off, which I like guys that are in a system, and then they leave, and then now they kind of create their own to where they streamline it, right, from a user-friendly standpoint, and what they change. So, the big interview process for him was like, all right, I know the system here, and you know the system here.
“When you left, what did you change and why? And I like guys that can change things and make it easier and simplify it for other players and make it more user-friendly because of the turnover in the roster. When you’re taking portal guys and freshman guys that have to play, how they learn and how fast they can learn is really important these days. So, I thought he streamlined it, I thought he made it a little more user-friendly, the terminology had changed, a lot of word association, and so for our players, it’s gonna be, JDB might have called it orange, we call it blue, it’s the same thing.
“And we’re calling it blue because of this, and it makes it easier, and this is why. And I think it’s the easy buy-in when you can tell players this is the same as, but it’s actually better for you to be able to learn it and process it a little faster. So, I thought he did a really good job in the interview process with that.
“My familiarity with him as a person and as a recruiter and what this place meant to him played a big part as well.”
On health status on team…
“I think, you know, playing that Friday and some of those guys that play, obviously, with Kite and then having that week to be able to kind of get away from it and then rehab, get in the weight room. Mentally, also get away from the game a little bit. I think at this point in the year, that’s really important. And then this week, be able to progress them back. So, we’ll have full access to everybody that we’ve needed throughout the year to get to this point, so everybody will be available.”
On benefit of having players playoff experience…
“Obviously, I think guys, you know, you’re a product of your experiences. I think guys that have been in similar situations create a lot of value for the room.
“And the big thing, football is football. But, you know, it’s a little different than this process than a normal bowl game. A lot of guys are happy at the end of the year because they win their bowl game and it’s the last game of the year.
“Where on this one, there’s only going to be one team. And, you know, the process of going up to the game and your preparation and the things that you have to do don’t change. But there is a lot of guys that would give anything to be in this position to have a chance to compete for a national championship and now there’s only 12.
“And so, what I kind of challenge those guys are what are you willing to give up in order to get what you want? And we got to prepare a little better, right? We got to prepare a little harder. We got to practice a little harder and make sure we’re editing our behavior to get the result that we want. So, when you’ve had guys in that and then not have the success doing it like they did, obviously, when he was at Penn State, you know, he kind of looks back and can educate that group a little bit.
“I wish I would have done this. You know, we did it this way, it didn’t work. So, having guys with experience, having gone through the playoff system, I think is really important, especially on your team.”
On transition with recent coaching changes…
“I think the big thing from our players, you know, I think it’s at any level, the E2, 1AA, the NFL, they want to be in a room with guys that create value for them, all right? And educating, get prepared to play really well, whether it’s individually, as a group, and then as a unit. And I think, you know, when you get back to a routine of things and you’re doing it with the same guy that you’ve done it, that got you to 11 and 1, regardless where he’s going to be in January, it really doesn’t matter. And I think from the very beginning, the guys that are leading those rooms, that came back to lead those rooms, are great men.
“And there was nothing, you know, prior to them leaving, that they were ever going to question whether they were going to coach in the game or not. The question was going to be where they coach next year, which any coach right now is questioning that, regardless whether they’re successful, right? A lot of people want them, or they’re not successful, they’re about to get their ass fired. So there’s indecision for everybody, including every locker room.
“They’re going to evaluate every January, am I in the right system? Am I creating value for myself and my team? Is there a better opportunity? Do I like where I go to school? All those type of things. So I think this group is focused on the mission, not the man, and I think that’s everybody, from the coach and to the players. And so I think you jump back in.
“Obviously, like in any situation, you break up with your girlfriend and you get back, you’re kind of looking around and you’re looking at things that you probably didn’t look at before, and you’re probably noticing some things that were there before, all right? And you’re noticing them now. So there are a couple talks, guys. It’s the same thing, it was there before, you weren’t looking for it, all right? Let’s relax and let’s focus and let’s play football.
“So they’re in a pretty good spot.”
On how he schedules day-to-day activities…
“I just don’t sleep, no. So obviously, yeah, we get an early start and kind of try to work on the staff component of it early, setting up the interviews and things like that for 2026. We make sure we got a lot of good people in the building that have different roles, that it’s not taking away from our players.
“The biggest thing is our focus on our players when they’re in the building. And then when they’re not in the building, we’ve got guys that’ll have some different roles right now as far as practice scripts and things like that of this week to be able to help me handle while we take care of some other responsibilities to make sure we’re setting up ourselves up for success in the future. So definitely there’s a staff component of it for the future.
“There’s a player component right now and make sure we’re getting them ready when they’re here, getting them ready for practice and having elite practice. And then there’s a recruiting component of your own roster and making sure those guys understand, hey, this is where we see you, this is our plan for you in the future. My whole talk to these guys the entire time is we’re not messing with that in game week.
“So we’re going to build up to it. We want you to understand what our value, where we see you at right now. If you want to make that decision, great.
“I completely understand you need to get all the information. Let’s get through this season. If you play really well, then your value is going to increase, whether that’s at Ole Miss or that’s somewhere else.
“And so that focus coming back on Sunday is going to be completely about this game. But they’ve done a good job when they’re in the meetings and in the walk-throughs and the practice, it’s ball. And there’s a business component that obviously we’re trying to get some deals done with some guys from a retention standpoint to keep.
“And a lot of that will be after these games, whenever that is.”
On creating relationships with offensive players…
“It’s been awesome for me, because I knew we had elite people on defense as far as from a character standpoint and competitive standpoint from the recruiting aspect of it.
“But it’s been really cool to see the offensive mindset and how good of dudes we have over there. So I’ll try to bring everybody in one by one. We’re still working through that, haven’t met with everybody yet.
“Kind of get a feel, how they feel about the situation, mentally kind of where they are right now, some things they like about the program, some things that they would change about the program if they were in charge, kind of get a feel for 2026. But it’s been awesome to get to know them on a little more personal level. And then we have get real groups that we split up, offense, defense, and get our players together with some coaches in there too.
“And it’s been neat to see those personalities. But I think there’s a lot of unity on the team on both sides of the ball, because we got a lot of high character kids in there. And I think that’s a credit to the guys that recruited them throughout that process.
“And we got a lot of guys that want to be at Ole Miss. So it’s been really neat.”
On benefit of a rematch in the playoff…
“Obviously, they’re going to try to build on what they did, all right, and how are they going to tag it and when to address it to create the same thing, but a different presentation. But more importantly, I think some other issues that they presented that they didn’t run in the game, you already have plans for. And I think that’s the biggest thing, especially from a defensive standpoint, you got to have a plan for everything.
“Well, you only might get a third of that actually in the game, but you’ve already got the other things game plan. So when you’re watching it, because we played them so early, when you’re watching some of those things happen later in the year, you go back and revisit, hey, does the plan still match? Does it still marry? They didn’t run it versus us. But do we still like it? Do we need to alter it? Do we need to change it? So a lot of that work has been done.
“So that piece is obviously pretty important. But, yeah, I’d rather have played somebody we’ve already played with the situation that occurred.”
On players’ response to cancelling introductory press conference…
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t think they care.
“I mean, obviously, I think our players have had an elite year. I think they should have a lot of individual accolades for a couple of these guys that come with it. They know if they work extremely hard and they play really well, they’ll get notoriety.
“And if they don’t, then they’re going to get a lot of backlash. And so I just think they want us to be all invested in them. I think they want us to hold them accountable, prepare them really well and play really well.
“So this has nothing to do with me. It’s not about me. It’s about the preparation for this team.
“And we’re going to need everybody in this building pulling in the same direction. And I think we have that right now.”
On any changes to small things (like the basketball hoop on the sideline)…
“I think there’s some things that don’t affect winning and losing that have been changed up to this point. I think the natural routine of things that affect winning and losing and the progression of that, of how you meet and how you practice when you do those things, the strength and conditioning component and how you stretch and everything else, I want it to be as routine as possible. Obviously, some people like Coke.
“Some people like Dr. Pepper. When things that don’t matter really don’t matter what you drink with dinner, but you’re going to have a drink with dinner. So some of those other things, you know, we’ve kind of eliminated because we’re trying to be a little more efficient this late in the year.
“You know, you don’t want to become monotonous, in my opinion, at this point. You know, they’ve had a lot of game plans. You’re not putting anything new in.
“You’re just kind of pulling from this game and this game and this game and combining it. So we want to be able to meet, you know, pretty short periods. We want to go walk-through.
“We want to take advantage of the speed on the field and not be out there for a long time. So some of those other things that are good throughout the off-season and good through fall camp to build camaraderie and all that, it’s not that right now. All right? So it’s going to be our 13th game, and everybody in this room feels comfortable with everybody in this room, so some of those other things, yeah, we’ll get eliminated as we go.”
On who will be defensive coordinator…
“Yeah, I’m the defensive coordinator. Obviously, some responsibility that I took in that room has changed, and obviously Coach Brian Brown will move up to control that room, which we’re super excited about.
“He’s had a lot of success everywhere he’s been doing that. It’s been said from the very beginning. I’ve talked to a lot of guys in this profession.
“I love calling defense, feel like I do a decent job at it. That’s not going to change. He’s going to take on a lot of responsibility of managing that room from a practice scripting standpoint and that throughout the week, have some more responsibility within that, but as far as actually calling the defense, the system, the terminology, we’ve recruited that system for three years, and I’ve looked every kid in the face and every parent in the eye and said, I can assure you that system won’t change, and it’s not going to, and so we’ll be in a position.
“We have a lot of really good people in this room to be able to allow me to still do that on game day, and that will be at this point and moving forward.”
On other coaching staff changes…
“Yeah, so obviously our focus right now is on this team, and then we’re in the interview process. I like to do things on Zoom first to get a good feel of guys, and from an FBI standpoint, would they be a good fit? And then we’ll bring guys into the building and interview some guys throughout the process when our players aren’t here, but when our players are in the building on these practice days, the focus is on them and trying to beat a really good two-lane team.
“Outside of that, we’re going to be very well-prepared to fill the spots that we need. Some of them are still up in the air, so obviously we’re getting our plans ready for whatever direction they go. So those will happen over time.
“We’re in no rush on some of those. If the candidate is put in a situation where there’s a timeline, our hand might get forced on some of these guys that we want, and that will come out at that point.”
On whether he’ll be portal-heavy like Kiffin was…
“I’m good player-heavy, and so I don’t care if they’re coming from Tupelo, they’re coming from Oxford, or they’re coming from LSU.
“Obviously, when the stability in the system doesn’t change, I think it’s really important to try to build that foundation from the ground up and get young players in the system that have a high ceiling that you can get in and you can develop and get in your strength and conditioning program and learn the terminology. You’re not going to ask them or count on them to play in this league as an 18-year-old freshman, but when they come into that spring season, they’ve already been in the system for a year, they’ve been in the weight room for a year, and they’re ready to go for that second season. So that’s not going to change.
“From a high school standpoint, we signed 16 guys on defense last year in high school, so we know that system wasn’t going to change. So we want to lead high school players. We’re trying to look in a five-hour radius first.
“I think it’s really important to want to be here, regardless what side of the ball. And then on top of that, obviously, from a retention standpoint to replacement is kind of what you’re looking at. And so if you’re losing some guys based on the draft and exhausting their eligibility, do we have a replacement ready on our roster that already knows the system that can play winning football in the SEC? If you do, then obviously from a portal standpoint, you don’t have to go that direction.
“If you don’t, then you do. And so, you know, this is a success-driven business. I understand that we got to win football games, and it’s our responsibility to put the best football team on the field, regardless whether they’re a freshman or a senior.
“So that’s going to depend upon what position it is, where we’re at on the roster, and can that kid play winning football in this league. So that’s evaluated every year, and will change every year based on your retention.”
On return of Kevin Bolden…
“Obviously, KB and I have a great relationship, but I make sure I’m not here to hire my friends. It has nothing to do with that.
“I was just really impressed with the relationships he’s built, especially in this state over the years. I loved his energy and passion for this place when he was here. I think it created another opportunity for him when he went somewhere else based on his son, which I really respected, because part of my decision to come here initially was for my family, and so I think when family’s important to people, it speaks to their character, and so his son just signed his basketball scholarship last week, which was awesome to see, and is going to go to college.
“So I think that was a pit stop, and so this place is really special to KB, and he’s invested a lot here, and he wants to finish this thing the right way, so we’re super excited to have him back.”
On message to Ole Miss fans…
“I think leaving that Florida game, I think they know the expectation, and so I think they’ve created an environment here over the last couple years.
“I think you can look at the records across the SEC as far as home win, loss. I think they know how to do it right, and so I don’t think they need a message from me. If they can’t get up for a playoff game, you know, on Saturday in the vault, something’s wrong with them, and I know they’ll be there.
“I know they’ll be loud. I know they’ll be proud, and hopefully we’ll put a good product on the field to make them happy when they leave.”
On RB coach Kevin Smith…
“Yeah, Kevin’s coaching his ass off right now and getting us prepared for the games.
“Kevin’s very mature about the situation from the very beginning from that Sunday. Like, hey, I’m here, I’m all in, and I’m going to figure this out in January when everybody else does, and it’s going to cost them, whoever that is. So he’s playing how he should be.
“He’s all in. He’s focused. Like every coach, he’s going to evaluate, you know, their position, where they’re at, and what’s best for them and their family, and do they have better opportunities based on being a coordinator or what level they want to go to.
“So I have no concerns on where Kevin’s mind is when he’s here and what he’s doing, and we’ll figure that out in January.”
