Josh Pate already has a Lane Kiffin replacement in mind if he bolts on Ole Miss

The Ole Miss Rebels thought they were getting a nice break in their bye week with the upcoming College Football Playoff. Boy, were they wrong.

They are still getting a break from playing against opponents, but the week will bring something much more tense in Oxford than a usual gameday: a possible head coaching change.

Ole Miss has officially issued an ultimatum to Kiffin to pick a side before the Egg Bowl, their in-state rivalry game that now looks way less thrilling amid all the Kiffin drama.

The announcement could either bring a massive sigh of relief across the Rebel Nation if Kiffin agrees to stay, or else it will bring the much-dreaded talks of finding his replacement.

Lane Kiffin's replacement is in-house

The ultimatum also set the talks of finding Kiffin's replacement in motion, bracing themselves for the worst-case scenario right before the Playoff.

Fortunately, for Ole Miss, they have one right in-house.

Analyst Josh Pate explains how DC Pete Golding would be the Rebels' first choice, and their safest bet to lead the Rebels across the College Football Playoff.

"Or we're going to understand. We'll wrap up this regular season, and then we'll go our separate ways. And I'm just telling you, if I'm Ole Miss, Pete Golding is going to be my head coach in the Playoff," Pate said.

Golding is the most familiar with Kiffin's style of coaching, given they come from the same Alabama coaching tree. Golding served as Alabama's DC from 2018, a few years after Kiffin left, till 2022.

After that, he took over the Rebels' defense in 2023 and has since worked closely with Kiffin.

The rest is history, with him making Ole Miss's defense one of the best in the country. In 2024, the Rebels' defense ranked the best in the nation in sacks and tackles for loss and second-best in scoring defense and rush yards allowed.

Golding will undoubtedly replace Kiffin if he decides to ditch Ole Miss with the Playoff looming.