The Ole Miss Rebels football team has made a major coaching move, as head coach Lane Kiffin has landed Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, to fill the same role on his staff, sources told Chris Low of ESPN.
Golding, Alabama football's defensive coordinator since the 2018 season, will be joining another former Saban protege with Ole Miss, as Kiffin was once an offensive coordinator for the Tide.
Golding's future seemed to be on solid footing with the Tide, as he had signed a three-year extension back in 2021. When asked about his future ahead of the Sugar Bowl, Golding said he “absolutely” planned to be back.
That may have been true then, though it wasn't when Kiffin and Ole Miss football came calling.
During Golding's tenure with Alabama football, the Tide defense finished inside the top-10 in total yards, following it up by ranking 13th in the nation in that same category in 2022.
There were some signs of the unit taking a step back, most notably in Alabama's near-loss to Texas and in losses to Tennessee and LSU.
There's no doubt that Golding is a big-time hire for Ole Miss football, though.
The Rebels, whose defense was run by Chris Partridge and D.J. Durkin, had a respectable season but were torched for 40-plus points in two of their last three games.
Kiffin was clearly not pleased with how his program finished the year, saying that changes would be made after the “unacceptable” season.
It's clear that he wasn't lying, as the Ole Miss football program will have a new voice in the defensive room in 2023.
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