Pete Golding isn’t wasting any time putting his stamp on Ole Miss football.
Just weeks after taking over as head coach following Lane Kiffin’s departure to LSU, Golding continues to reshape the Rebels’ infrastructure - and he’s bringing in a familiar and highly respected name to help do it. On Sunday night, Ole Miss officially announced the hiring of Austin Thomas as the program’s new President of Football Operations and General Manager.
For Rebels fans, this is more than just a front-office move - it’s a strategic play that signals how seriously Golding is taking the long-term build in Oxford.
Thomas is no stranger to the SEC grind. In fact, he’s been at the heart of it for more than a decade.
Most recently, he served LSU in 2024 as a senior associate athletic director for football administration. That marked his third stint with the Tigers - and his resume there is as decorated as it gets.
Back in 2016, LSU made Thomas college football’s first-ever general manager, a title that’s now become commonplace across Power Five programs. He held key roles in Baton Rouge from 2013 to 2017, returned in 2021 as GM, and helped shape LSU’s roster-building strategy during some pivotal years.
But Thomas’ experience isn’t limited to LSU. He’s also made stops at Baylor and Texas A&M, where his fingerprints were all over the personnel and administrative sides of those programs.
In 2020, he was Baylor’s senior associate AD for football, overseeing all aspects of the Bears’ football operations. Before that, he held the associate AD role for football personnel at Texas A&M from 2018 to 2019 - another SEC stop where he helped build out competitive rosters in one of the toughest divisions in college football.
Now, he returns to Oxford - where he once worked under Ed Orgeron - to help guide a Rebels program that’s entering a new era under Golding. And it’s happening fast.
Golding officially took the reins on November 30, the same day Kiffin made his move to Baton Rouge. Since then, both coaches have been active on the recruiting trail and in building out their respective staffs. But while Kiffin is retooling LSU, Golding is doing more than just plugging holes - he’s building a foundation.
That foundation already has a strong start. Golding coached Ole Miss to a win over Tulane in the first round of the College Football Playoff, marking the program’s first-ever appearance in the CFP.
It was also Golding’s debut as head coach - and it ended in a victory. Now, the sixth-seeded Rebels (12-1) are prepping for a massive Sugar Bowl showdown against No.
3 Georgia on New Year’s Day (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
With Thomas now in place as GM, Golding has a trusted partner behind the scenes - someone who knows how to build a roster, manage the day-to-day chaos of a major college football program, and navigate the ever-shifting landscape of the transfer portal and NIL.
This is more than just a reunion. It’s a calculated move by a first-year head coach who understands that success in today’s college football world isn’t just about X’s and O’s - it’s about infrastructure, alignment, and vision. And with Austin Thomas back in Oxford, the Rebels are clearly positioning themselves for sustained success, not just a one-year playoff run.
The Golding era is off to a fast start. And with moves like this, it’s clear: Ole Miss isn’t just looking to compete - they’re building to contend.