Nick Saban doesn’t hand out praise lightly, but he made it clear Wednesday that he sees Pete Golding as the kind of coach who can thrive with the full weight of a head job on his shoulders.
Golding is set to begin his first full season leading Ole Miss after taking over for Lane Kiffin at the end of the 2025 campaign, and the Rebels are hoping he can steer them back to the College Football Playoff. Saban, who coached Golding at Alabama, spoke highly of his former assistant during SEC Media Day and framed him as a natural fit for the next step.
“I think Pete is a ball guy. He’s one of the best coaches that we had - and we’ve had some good ones that are having a lot of success out there as head coaches - and I think Pete is going to fit into that,” Saban said.
“He’s very authentic. He’s a good football guy.
He knows personnel. He can recruit really well.”
Golding’s reputation has long been built on the kind of straight-ahead football obsession Saban values. He worked under Saban from 2018-2022 as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, helping shape some of Alabama’s toughest defenses during that stretch.
The connection between the two goes back to Golding’s time in Tuscaloosa, but his path to this moment also runs through Ole Miss, where he has been on staff since Kiffin hired him in 2023. Now the native of Hammond, Louisiana, is stepping into the spotlight as the Rebels’ full-time head coach, with one of the sport’s most accomplished voices openly backing his potential.
In Other News...
Respected SEC Voice Just Made A Stunning Ole Miss QB Claim
David Pollack has never been shy about a big college football opinion, and his latest one puts Ole Miss squarely in the spotlight. The former Georgia linebacker and current analyst said on his podcast that Trinidad Chambliss is the best quarterback in the country entering the 2026 season, a stunning rise for a player who arrived from Division II Ferris State and quickly became one of the most important pieces in the SEC.
Chambliss backed up the buzz with a strong first season in Oxford, throwing 22 touchdown passes against just 3 interceptions while adding 527 rushing yards and 8 scores on the ground. He will represent Ole Miss at SEC Media Days and now carries even more attention into a season where the Rebels are trying to turn quarterback confidence into a real run at the league title conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Is Back In The SEC Spotlight Again
Lane Kiffin is set to step back into the SEC spotlight this week, this time as LSUs head coach at his first SEC Media Days appearance in that role. It is a familiar stage for a coach whose career has long been tied to the leagues biggest storylines, and his return brings with it the kind of championship expectations that follow LSU everywhere, along with the extra attention that comes from his past stops in Knoxville and Oxford.
Josh Heupel only added to the buzz by bringing up the 2021 scene at Neyland Stadium, when Kiffins return to Tennessee with Ole Miss turned volatile in a hurry. Kiffins move from Ole Miss to LSU already left hard feelings in Oxford, and with LSU heading to Tennessee on the schedule, the next chapter in this SEC soap opera figures to draw plenty of eyes long before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]