On Monday, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding decided the gamble on Charlie Weis Jr. was too risky to play heading into the College Football Playoff.
Weis Jr.'s reputation took a hit the moment he boarded that plane to Baton Rouge with Lane Kiffin last Sunday. Even though he came back, his reputation preceded him to Oxford.
All this tension led Golding to make his first big hire in Ole Miss.
Pete Golding makes a new addition to the staff
Ole Miss football announced on Dec. 9 that East Carolina OC John David Baker will be headed to Oxford as the newest member of the staff Golding is putting together.
The hire is particularly monumental because it is rarely ever that a head coach hires a new OC, let alone rebuilds the whole staff in the College Football Playoff week.
Baker would be returning to the fold after two years coaching ECU in 2024- 2025. Before that, Baker served as the Rebels' co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach from 2021-23.
"I'm so fired up to come back home and be the offensive coordinator at Ole Miss. My three years in Oxford made a monumental impact on my career and the chance to come back and lead this unit means the world to me," Baker said about his return.
Ready to get to work 💪 @coach_jdbaker https://t.co/IziqzeTsdo pic.twitter.com/60BMdOBW1Q
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) December 10, 2025
Replacing Weis Jr. right before the Playoff signals that Golding is ready to move on to his system of playing, instead of playing it safe and sticking to Kiffin's way, since he already has a staff familiar with that.
Again, it is a big gamble, but perhaps one that the Rebels need to make a statement in the Playoff after months of drama.