No. 6 Ole Miss continues to be plagued by the actions of its former coach.
Only a few hours after the Rebels’ Sugar Bowl win against Georgia on Thursday, a report was published by ESPN stating that some LSU-bound, Ole Miss assistant coaches might not be with the team for the Fiesta Bowl.
Since then, the picture has only grown murkier.
There are differing reports about who will be with Ole Miss for the College Football Playoff semifinal game against No. 10 Miami and who won’t.
Running backs coach Kevin Smith won’t return to Ole Miss for rest of CFP run and will instead rejoin LSU, per @ChaseParham. pic.twitter.com/gFpKpcshVb
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 3, 2026
On Saturday, Golding held his first press conference since Thursday and he didn’t definitely who will and who won’t remain as assistant coaches through the CFP, with one exception.
“The idea is the same guys that have coached the same positions all year will do that in this game like they have up to this point,” Golding said. “They have every opportunity like they have up to this point to be able to make that decision. So, week in and week out. I don’t dictate whether they do that or not because they’re not employed by me. Up to this point that is how it’s been and that’s my expectation.”
The one previously mentioned exception is offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr.
Golding confirmed on Saturday that Weis would be with the team for the CFP semifinal game. That’s the biggest piece to all of this.
If Weis suddenly isn’t calling plays or with Ole Miss, serious questions will be raised about the offense and what it’ll look like against Miami.
Other coaches like Kevin Smith, Georgia McDonald and Joe Cox wouldn’t have as drastic of an impact on the Rebels.
“One thing about Division I football, this building is filled with guys that have been elite coaches everywhere they’ve been,” Golding said. “As long as they’re employed here, you can have a million coaches that can instruct on the field. So, at every college across the country a lot of guys that y’all don’t know by name are actually the ones instructing and teaching players. We have an elite staff here that’s been together for a long time that knows the ins and outs.
“So we got plenty. That would not be any reason for success or lack of success within this game. The play callers haven’t changed.”
Notice that last sentence, “the play callers haven’t changed.” Frankly, that’s all anyone should be worried about. Golding certainly doesn’t seem bothered by the possibility of not having some of the assistant coaches for the rest of the CFP.
“There are people in everyone room. Our players know what to do. It’s going to have no impact on the game. But y’all can keep blowing it up and making it a big deal. It’d be great,” Golding said. “Everybody does this, you know? Everybody’s targeting us on this. There are multiple teams that have coordinators that have other jobs. They’re taking head jobs everywhere else. …So, they’re all doing two jobs. They have a responsibility to the next institution they’re going to work at.”
