During the recent coaching saga with Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss and LSU, one thing was pretty clear: money wasn’t the problem.
Multiple times during the month-long soap opera Kiffin said his decision wasn’t based on money. He even claimed to not know what his salary was, which nobody believed.
In the end, LSU won the right to make Kiffin the highest-paid coach in the country.
Ole Miss promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to the permanent head coach ahead of the College Football Playoff.
“The immediate reaction was I got my ass up out of my seat, went straight out the door to try to recruit offensive staff not to get on an airplane,” Golding said on Selection Sunday. “That was my immediate reaction. So I couldn’t tell you the years, the money, and I still can’t.”
The Rebels are likely saving money, too.
The Daily Journal’s Michael Katz obtained the term sheet for Golding, as well as some of the other newly hired assistant coaches and coordinators.
I received Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding’s term sheet today. I also received term sheets for John David Baker, Jake Schoonover, Bryan Brown, Kevin Smith, Matt Kitchens, Jay Shoop, John Garrison, Randall Joyner, Joe Judge and Wes Neighbors. pic.twitter.com/NpnKDirSpX
— Michael Katz (@MichaelLKatz) December 10, 2025
Golding, of course, received a pay raise but isn’t the highest paid coach in the country. Here’s what his salary is for each year of the five-year contract:
- Year 1: $6.8 million
- Year 2: $6.9 million
- Year 3: $7 million
- Year 4: $7.1 million
- Year 5: $7.2 million
Katz also reports there are incentives for SEC wins, post-season berths and coaching awards. Should Golding be fired without cause, his buyout would equal to 75 percent of the remaining “OMAF (Ole Miss Athletics Foundation) Annual Compensation … that would be due through the otherwise unexpired Term.”
We also know the salaries for other coaches, too. They are:
- Offensive coordinator John David Baker: $1 million
- Defensive assistant Bryan Brown: $1.2 million
- Offensive line coach John Garrison: $850,000
- Special teams coordinator Jake Schoonover: $575,000
- Outside linebackers coach Matt KitchensL $250,000
- Safeties coach Wes Neighbors: $525,000
- Inside linebackers coach Jay Shoop: $250,000
“I think Ole Miss is better with the players being properly prepared and preparing the right way and practicing really well and having really good plans on both sides of the ball with consistency and play-callers and the development at the position,” Golding said. “To this point, to me, who runs you out of the tunnel is overrated. It’s not going to matter. At that point, the game’s already won or lost by the plan and the preparation and the energy and the attitude of the players.”
