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Pete Golding‘s brazenly authentic personality was on full display during his SEC Media Days debut Wednesday in Tampa. The first-year Ole Miss head coach didn’t shy away from addressing tampering allegations levied by Clemson‘s Dabo Swinney, and boldly asserted he’s still friendly with Lane Kiffin.
“I talk to him on a regular basis,” Golding said Wednesday at SEC Media Days, “but no ill will at all, and really appreciative of how he treated me and my family, and then created an unbelievable opportunity for me on top of that — (one) I really wasn’t looking for but so appreciative to have.”
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After three seasons as defensive coordinator, Golding was promoted to head coach in late November after Kiffin bolted the College Football Playoff-bound Rebels to become LSU‘s head coach. But while Kiffin’s chaotic exit for Baton Rouge resulted in a wave of hostility from the Ole Miss fanbase, that animosity is clearly not shared by the 42-year-old Golding.
Golding even elaborated on the challenging quandary of maintaining a relationship with Kiffin while also supporting the bereaved Ole Miss fan base, which he compared to having an ex-girlfriend while married.
“Nah, there’s always going to be history. It’s (like having an) ex, right? There’s always going to be the history,” Golding explained, via Chessa Bouche of Louisiana Sports News. “… (When) you have an ex that your wife knows about, (that past history) doesn’t ever end, she’s never dead, right, she’s always going to get brought up.
“And so that’s kind of where it is right now. That (past history with Kiffin is) always going to be there a little bit, which is fun to a certain degree.”
And while there will always be history between Golding and Kiffin, the first-time head coach made it clear it won’t have any any impact on how he performs his job at Ole Miss. Of course, with Kiffin set to make his highly-anticipated return when LSU comes to Oxford on Sept. 19, Golding will worry about that particular challenge when it comes in Week 3. Until then, his entire focus will be on the Rebels’ season-opener against Louisville on Sept. 6 inside Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
“For us, the way our schedule is set up, we’ve got Louisville who is a Top 25 team in a neutral site to open this thing up. And if we’re worried about anybody outside of Louisville, you better hold on,” Golding concluded. “That’s what I love about this league, it allows us as coaches and players, I know there’s a lot of noise out there, to put our focus back on what matters and that’s the next opponent. But LSU will get our undivided attention in Week 3 and they’ll deserve every bit of it.”
