Ole Miss Rebels coach Pete Golding on the sidelines during College Football Playoff game against the Tulane Green Wave
Ole Miss Rebels coach Pete Golding on the sidelines during College Football Playoff game against the Tulane Green Wave at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. | Taylor Graham-HottyToddy Images

Fear the Okra: Pete Golding Brings Delta State Roots to Oxford

BY Taylor Hodges

Folks in Oxford may want to start being weary of the Okra.

If you know Pete Golding’s background, it makes perfect sense that one of his coaching staff moves as Ole Miss’ head coach was to bring in Todd Cooley.

Golding played and coached at Delta State. Cooley just spent 13 years building the Statesmen into one of the most consistent Division II programs in the country.

Now the two are teaming up at Ole Miss. Fear the Okra in Oxford, apparently.

Cooley arrives as the Rebels’ new Director of High School Relations/Assistant to the Head Coach after an 82-49 run at Delta State that included three Gulf South Conference titles, three Coach of the Year awards, and four playoff appearances.

He’s been a steady hand in Mississippi football for more than a decade, and now he’ll be the one helping Golding connect the program to every corner of the state.

And Cooley isn’t the only new face.

Ole Miss also announced the hiring of Miami tight ends coach Cody Woodiel as co-offensive coordinator.

Woodiel is coming off a national title appearance with Mario Cristobal and is heading back to his home state after stops at Troy, Murray State, Itawamba Community College, Oregon, and Miami. He’ll coach tight ends in Oxford, stepping into the role Joe Cox held before joining Lane Kiffin’s LSU staff.

For Golding, it’s another piece of a staff that’s been reshaped quickly and intentionally.

Since taking over, he’s stacked a strong transfer class, added experienced assistants, and leaned into connections that make sense, including the one that runs straight through Cleveland, Mississippi.

Cooley built a winner at Delta State. Woodiel helped coach in a national championship game. And Golding, who once walked the same campus and sat in the same offices Cooley just left, is putting together a staff that looks a lot like the program he wants to run: steady, local where it matters, and not afraid to bring in people who know how to win.

Oxford may not be Cleveland, but for now, the Okra energy is definitely making the trip.

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