Pete Golding Era Begins at Ole Miss with Familiar Faces and a Familiar Focus
OXFORD - It’s a new era at Ole Miss, but don’t expect a total overhaul. Pete Golding may have just taken over as head coach, but if you ask the guys in the locker room, the vibe inside the Manning Center hasn’t changed much - and that’s by design.
Golding, who served as the Rebels’ defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, stepped into the top job just over two weeks ago. And while he’s made it clear there will be some tweaks around the building - the kind that don’t directly impact wins and losses - the core of the program’s day-to-day rhythm is staying intact.
That consistency is something players have noticed and appreciated, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where Golding’s fingerprints have been all over the unit’s growth since his arrival in 2023.
“One of our biggest things to do is just keep everything the same around here,” said sophomore defensive tackle Will Echoles. “We didn’t want to really just change anything, but as far as Pete, it feels the same.
He still interacts with the defense just like the offense. It feels the same around here, honestly, to me.”
Junior linebacker TJ Dottery echoed that sentiment: “It’s been the same for the most part. I feel like he’s kept it the same in terms of routine and meeting times, strength time, anything. We’ve just been able to focus on the playoffs and that’s been the main thing.”
That focus has paid off. After a rocky start to the season with a largely rebuilt defensive unit, the Rebels have found their footing.
November marked a turning point. Over the final stretch of the regular season, Ole Miss gave up just 14.2 points per game and forced five turnovers - a sign that Golding’s system is clicking at the right time.
Dottery sees the arrow pointing up: “We’re headed in the right direction. Continuing to get better every day at practice and still hungry. Still haven’t played a complete game on the defensive side and still shooting for that.”
He also noted that the recent break between games has helped, not hurt: “Honestly, I feel like this break we had of not playing football for a couple weeks, it’s only gotten better. Continuing to build relationships off the field and on the field. Guys coming in here, getting extra film, working and being able to continue to perfect everything that they might’ve messed up on in the season.”
Echoles added: “We continuously get better every week. We practice hard and I feel like the way we practice just translates to the game.”
One new wrinkle heading into the postseason - Golding will be calling the defense from the sideline rather than from up in the booth, where he’s been stationed the past two seasons. It’s a move that could bring even more immediacy to in-game adjustments.
“I feel like that might be better in terms of just being able to communicate with him face-to-face and hear him versus on the mic,” Dottery said. “Him being able to get on the board right then and there if he needed to in situations. I feel like if anything, it’ll be a plus.”
Golding’s head coaching debut comes this weekend in a high-stakes setting: a first-round College Football Playoff matchup against the 11-seed Green Wave. The sixth-seeded Rebels will host the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
And while Ole Miss handled Tulane comfortably back in September - holding them to just 10 points and limiting quarterback Jake Retzlaff to 56 passing yards on 5-of-17 passing - this is not the same Tulane offense.
Since that early-season loss, Retzlaff has found his rhythm. He’s thrown for at least 240 yards in six games and piled up 22 total touchdowns (12 passing) as Tulane went 8-1 down the stretch. The Green Wave offense has been humming at 30.8 points per game, and Ole Miss knows it’s facing a much more dangerous version of that unit this time around.
“For sure a very explosive offense,” Dottery said. “But the key factor is their quarterback.
That’s what gets them going and keeps them going - being able to contain him because he has speed and he’s mobile outside of the pocket. So being able to contain him in the pocket and make him throw passes from the pocket.”
Echoles added, “When [Retzlaff] first got to Tulane it was like in August of this year. I’m sure now he’s got more comfortable with the offense and what they do. I’m sure he’ll be way better this game.”
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, with the game airing on TNT and HBO Max. It’s a new chapter for Ole Miss football - and Pete Golding - but the foundation remains the same: consistency, toughness, and a defense that’s peaking at the right time.