If not for what Curt Cignetti did at Indiana, someone should seriously consider giving a coach of the year award to Pete Golding.
He took over a team whose head coach didn’t believe they could win it all and left before the first CFP game, proved that coach wrong by winning two CFP games and coming very close to advancing to the national title game.
While doing that, Golding had to work to retain key players for next season, keep a high school signing class together, hire a coaching staff and front office personnel. He also had to contend with LSU-bound coaches possibly recruiting Ole Miss players to LSU for next season, while preparing for a playoff game.
Throw in a top 10 transfer portal class and there aren’t many coaches who have been more impressive in this short timespan. You-know-who would qualify, but not in the “good” impressive way.
The work isn’t stopping anytime soon.
According to reports from multiple outlets, Golding is bringing Delta State coach Todd Cooley to Oxford. However, those reports differ to what specific role Cooley will have so we’ll wait for an official announcement on that front.
Golding is a former player and coach at Delta State. He was the defensive coordinator for the Statesmen in 2010 when they advanced to within a last-second field goal of winning the Division II national championship.
Golding mentioned talking with Cooley in a December 17 press conference, ahead of the Rebels’ first round CFP game. It was in reference to Golding bringing safety Wydett Williams Jr. to Ole Miss from Delta State.
“He went to Delta State where I played at. And so Coach Cooley and I are good friends over there,” Golding said. “So, you know, when I first inquired about him, I called Coach Cooley first at Delta State, and he just talked about his wiring and his mental makeup and how much he loved playing football and how smart he was and what a great kid he was, because you could watch the tape and see that he loves football.”
The quote isn’t super insightful, but does show there is a relationship between Golding and Cooley, which isn’t surprising considering the Delta State connection and proximity of the two schools.
As Delta State’s head coach, Cooley won 82 games, three Gulf South Conference titles, and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs four times. He was named the GSC coach of the year three times, too.
Cooley’s best year with the Statesmen came in 2023 when they finished 11-2 overall and quarterback Patrick Shegog won the C Spire Conerly Trophy. That season he passes for 2,970 yards, 32 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Before Delta State, Cooley was an offensive coordinator at Central Arkansas, Northwestern State, and Arkansas Tech.
