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Ole Miss coach Pete Golding had a whirlwind first few months on the job.
Just weeks after being named Lane Kiffin's permanent replacement, he led the Rebels on a run to the College Football Playoff semifinal. Then, in January, he found himself at the center of tampering allegations after Cal linebacker transfer Luke Ferrelli joined the Rebels after enrolling at Clemson.
Dabo Swinney publicly accused Golding of tampering, prompting an NCAA investigation to begin in the spring.
"Yeah, I don't get into feelings to be honest with you," Golding said when asked about the allegations. "We got a compliance department. They get paid to do their job. They do a really good job. It's our responsibility to recruit really good players, coach them extremely hard, get them ready to win football games, so we're going to continue to recruit really good players in the high school market and the portal market and continue to do it how we've done it."
Golding elaborated on his thoughts on tampering, explaining that he thinks the system incentivizes tampering while also pointing out that recruiting was far from completely above board before the advent of the transfer portal.
"Let me put it to you this way: You're a reporter. Would you quit your job before interviewing for another job or being offered another job? No. Nobody would," Golding said. "But we have a portal we can go in with a do-not-contact, I'm going to quit my job where I'm getting paid, and I'm going to go in saying I need a new job, which nobody can call me to interview.
"What have we created? So we've created it on top of representation for these players, right, that it's their responsibility to make sure they get paid really well and they also have opportunities. So by design, it's put a lot of people in bad positions. Let's not act like recruiting in college football for the last 100 years is the most moral thing. What are we talking about here?"
Golding went on to call the current system "broken" and advocated for an even playing field for everyone.
"I'm not going to get into my feelings," he said. "I've been educated to answer this question. Does that make sense? That's why we have a great compliance department and all those things. No, the model obviously has been broken. I'm all for everybody being on the same playing field and doing the same things. I get it."
Tampering has become a reality of life in college sports, and Ole Miss likely won't be the last school accused of doing it. Either way, it doesn't seem like that's weighing heavily on Golding as he enters his first full season.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Pete Golding brushes off tampering allegations against Ole Miss
