With Lane Kiffin gone to Baton Rouge, Ole Miss is suddenly the kind of team people can be quick to file under “wait and see.” Pete Golding is heading into his first full season as head coach, and he’ll have to navigate a nine-game SEC schedule while answering a long list of questions about what this roster and staff will look like.
There’s still plenty to sort out in Oxford. Trinidad Chambliss is back at quarterback, Kewan Lacy returns at running back, and defensive tackle Will Echoles is also in the fold. Even so, the Rebels still have major unknowns, from Golding’s first transfer portal class to how Chambliss develops to what the new hires can bring.
The offense, in particular, is a point of uncertainty now that Kiffin and Charlie Weiss Jr are no longer on the headsets. Ole Miss also won’t be rolling into the season with the No. 1-ranked transfer portal class. But for all the attention on what changed, there’s one part of this team that deserves more credit: the continuity still running through the program.
That may sound strange with 10 new hires on the staff, but the deeper look tells a different story. Golding didn’t bring in an outsider to start from scratch.
Ole Miss promoted from within by hiring him after Kiffin left, and that matters. He already knows the players, already understands the program, and already saw what worked under Kiffin and what didn’t.
Golding also showed during the College Football Playoff run that the lack of previous head coaching experience didn’t keep him from winning games.
The same theme shows up in the coordinator spots. On defense, Golding elevated Bryan Brown, the secondary coach and then co-defensive coordinator, to defensive coordinator.
Brown has spent the last two seasons on staff with Golding and has been working in his defense all along. Even with the promotion, the defense remains Golding’s operation, since he’ll still be the one calling the signals.
On offense, John David Baker comes in from ECU after spending the last two seasons there as the offensive play-caller. But he’s hardly a stranger in Oxford. Before his time at East Carolina, he spent three seasons with Ole Miss coaching tight ends and served as co-offensive coordinator in 2022 and 2023.
So while the names on the headsets have changed, the system hasn’t been wiped clean. Baker isn’t expected to rip everything up and start over, and that gives Ole Miss a level of familiarity that can matter when a staff is turning over this much.
That’s where Golding’s edge may be. The players will matter, of course, but the coordinators will shape how this season goes just as much.
If he misses on the roster, it could cost him. If the coordinator hires don’t work, that could be just as damaging to his tenure.
There are still no answers yet on how all of this will play out. Starting a season with 10 new coaches is never simple. But for a team that looks like it’s being overlooked, Ole Miss does have one real advantage: continuity.
In Other News...
Why Ole Miss Fans Are Suddenly Watching This Transfer Closely
Johntay Cook II arrives in Oxford with the kind of rsum that makes him easy to notice and hard to ignore. After stops at Texas, Washington and Syracuse, the wide receiver is expected to matter in Ole Miss 2026 plans, and his most recent season showed why the Rebels are giving him a real look. He caught 45 passes for 549 yards and 2 touchdowns at Syracuse, production that gives Ole Miss a proven option as it reshapes its offense under coach John David Baker.
For Cook, the next step is less about reliving the transfer trail and more about finding a fit quickly with Trinidad Chambliss. Ole Miss has plenty of room for a receiver to carve out a larger role, and Cooks path to that opportunity will depend on how well he meshes with the quarterback and how consistently he can bring the kind of playmaking that has followed him from school to school. The connection is still being built, but it has the feel of one that could matter a lot to this offense. [Read more 🡒]
Pete Golding Faces Five Ole Miss Questions He Cant Dodge
Pete Golding is heading into his first season as Ole Miss head coach with a roster that gives the Rebels real reason to believe the momentum can carry over. The opener against Louisville will set the tone, and the expectation around Oxford is that this team starts the year in the top 15 after bringing back quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, two names that put Ole Miss squarely in the early Heisman conversation.
Even with that kind of talent in place, the questions are already lining up for Golding as SEC Media Days approaches. There is a new offensive coordinator in John David Baker after Charlie Weis Jr. left for LSU, the defense still has to show it can take a step forward after last seasons issues, and the schedule brings Lane Kiffin back to Oxford with LSU on Sept. 19, a date that will draw attention whether Ole Miss wants it to or not. [Read more 🡒]