Ole Miss Defensive Coordinator, Pete Golding, now in his third season in Oxford after leaving Alabama following the 2022 campaign, spoke with SuperTalk Mississippi’s Richard Cross during the network's recent “Not Fall Camp Tour” stop. The conversation offered insight into his approach to rebuilding a unit that was a key part of the Rebels’ playoff push last fall.
"I think they're a really gritty group," Golding said of his new roster. "I think they really love football. I think they have a high football IQ. I think a lot of the guys, all you have to do is tell them one time and then if they make a mistake, they'll correct it. It's not the exact same talent at certain spots, but I think collectively, we have more depth than we've ever had at multiple different positions."
Coordinators under Lane Kiffin during his time at Ole Miss have not spent much time talking to the media. They are typically reserved for pre-season press conference, which Golding gave this week, but the interview with Richard Cross really allowed Golding to open up.
Last year’s defense allowed just 14.38 points per game, ranking second nationally behind only Ohio State. That success, however, came with a cost—nine starters are gone, including elite defensive linemen Walter Nolen and Princely Umanmielen, and shutdown corner Trey Amos.
This fall, Golding is focused on identifying roles for both returning contributors and a wave of high-potential transfers and underclassmen.
"We gotta make sure the guy that we're asking to do the job, he can actually execute the job."
Standouts like Suntarine Perkins return as building blocks, while emerging names such as Zxavian Harris, Kam Franklin, and William Echoles are expected to anchor the new-look front.
"We're putting a lot on the guys who can handle it," Golding told SuperTalk during in his interview. "I like the clay to mold it from the ground up. I think you just have to be patient with it and you have to identify what role they can do early based on what he can do and not what we want him to do."
A big part of Golding’s success as a play-caller stems from his matchup-based philosophy. Rather than lining up his best player against the opponent’s best and letting them battle it out, Golding prefers a more calculated approach.
"When you have those type of guys, and as a coach, I feel like it's your responsibility to put them in the right position to win the one-on-one, and so I'm not gonna put my best guy on their best guy and say, 'Hey, who's better?' I'm gonna put my best guy on their worst guy."
Golding emphasized that this year’s defense is still in its early stages, and that success will come down to patience, structure, and coaching to players' individual strengths.
This philosophy isn’t new, but it's essential with a defense undergoing major turnover and needing to create a new identity.
Golding’s resume includes stops at Alabama, UTSA, and now Ole Miss. His value has skyrocketed following last season's success. In February 2025, Golding signed a new three-year contract worth $2.55 million annually, making him—according to the Clarion-Ledger—the highest-paid assistant coach in the SEC, and second nationally behind Penn State’s Jim Knowles.But for Golding, money and titles haven’t changed his motivation.
"That's never been my goal to be honest with you" Golding said on being a head coach. "Obviously, growing up in the South, SEC was king. My goal was I just wanted to make it to the SEC. That was my goal, and I was always very adamant about being where my feet are."
Though he didn’t rule out becoming a head coach someday, Golding made it clear that he’s content building elite defenses—and building a life—in Oxford.
“We came to Oxford to be in Oxford. It was a family decision,” he said. “I’d love to coach defense here for the rest of my life."
Golding went on to talk about how the landscape of college football has shifted. Several years ago in order to truly make life changing money you really had to go after becoming a Power 4 (5 back then) head coach. That is not the case in the current era of college football and his new extension is proof of that.
As fall camp unfolds, one thing is clear: Pete Golding isn’t rebuilding from scratch—he’s reloading with purpose. With a deeper, more flexible roster and a proven scheme, Ole Miss may be ready to repeat its 2024 defensive dominance.