Ole Miss tightened security around its football facility after Lane Kiffin’s departure for LSU, but defensive coordinator Pete Golding said the situation was far less dramatic than some made it sound.
The school did get help from someone with FBI ties before the College Football Playoff, though Golding made clear Ole Miss did not formally bring in the bureau. Instead, he said a player’s father who works for the FBI and lives locally checked the Manning Center building.
"I do think we probably have a current player whose dad just so happens to work for the FBI that lives in town," Golding said. "From that standpoint."
Golding did not identify the player.
Walker Jones, the director of Ole Miss’ Grove Collective, said on the Assorted Crackers podcast that the FBI came to the Ole Miss football offices in the Manning Center before the CFP to sweep for listening devices. Golding’s version was more subdued, and he stressed that the program was simply trying to protect its people and its space after Kiffin’s exit sent shockwaves through the building.
Kiffin coached Ole Miss for six years before leaving to take over at rival LSU, and the timing created a strange stretch for the Rebels. As they prepared for the playoff, some assistants were being pursued to follow him to Baton Rouge. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith both helped Ole Miss through the CFP while also weighing their next move, and Golding said he has been complimentary of how they handled it.
"Anytime you get in the playoff system and you have guys from this building go to other places, you want to make sure it's secure for your players," Golding said.
Golding added that Ole Miss did what many teams do during postseason play. On playoff trips to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl and then Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl after beating Georgia, the program stepped up standard security measures. That included checking trash cans and monitoring internet security.
"That's been done for the history of ball, but there was no, 'Let's get the FBI in here, holy cow,'" Golding said.
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Golding noted how difficult it is to manage roster limits in a case like this, where NCAA numbers, eligibility questions and existing commitments all collide at once. The ruling forces schools to weigh how they fit in incoming players without creating problems elsewhere on the roster, and that ripple effect is part of what makes this situation so awkward for both programs. For Ole Miss, the timing adds another layer to a game that already carries plenty of SEC weight. [Read more 🡒]