If you’re trying to understand why Pete Golding keeps leaning into familiarity as he builds out his first staff at Ole Miss, Mike Stoops is a pretty good example. This isn’t a splash hire or a headline grabber. It’s a coach who has spent most of his career teaching defense at a high level, walking into a building where that knowledge actually matters.
Stoops is, according to OM Spirit, leaving Kentucky for Oxford, reuniting with Golding after their time together on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. His exact title hasn’t surfaced yet, but it doesn’t take much imagination to see where he fits.
Golding is trying to build a defense with layers with people who’ve seen enough football to know what wins in the SEC. Stoops checks every one of those boxes.
Ole Miss has added Mike Stoops to its staff. He was most recently ILB coach at Kentucky. The Iowa alum has made stops at Kansas State, Oklahoma, Alabama, FAU and was a head coach at Arizona for seven seasons. More here at @OMSpiritOn3
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His résumé is long, but it’s not fluff.
At Arizona, he coached Antoine Cason into a Thorpe Award winner and strung together three straight bowl seasons.
At Oklahoma, he worked alongside Brent Venables (then the Sooners’ defensive coordinator) during a stretch when the Sooners were still playing defense at a national level. Saban brought him to Alabama as an analyst, and he left with a national championship ring.
His recent work at Kentucky might be the clearest window into what Ole Miss is getting. Stoops helped build a defense that finished 11th nationally in his first season. He developed D’Eryk Jackson into one of the SEC’s most productive linebackers.
He landed Jamon Dumas‑Johnson out of the portal and turned him into the centerpiece of a unit that derailed Ole Miss’ playoff push in 2024.
None of this guarantees anything in Oxford, but it does explain the appeal.
Golding is trying to raise the defensive floor of the program, and that takes more than scheme. It takes people who’ve coached in different systems, recruited different types of players, and handled the problems that come with SEC football.
Stoops has done all of that. He’s been a head coach, a coordinator, an analyst, and a position coach. He’s seen the sport from every angle.
If you’re Ole Miss, that’s the value. Not the name, but the experience.
The Rebels still have to figure out exactly where he slots in, but the bigger picture is pretty simple: Golding wants a staff full of people who know defense inside and out. Mike Stoops is one of those people.
