MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Pete Golding didn't seem concerned.
Not about Lane Kiffin's comments in Vanity Fair.
"There's a Lane side for us that we are buddies and we're friends and then there's a professional side where I have to get on his ass about it a little bit," Golding said.
Golding says Lane still texts him 12 times a day, though he didn't look at the ones he got from his former boss on the day the Vanity Fair piece dropped. "We're good," he said.
Not about Steve Sarkisian's "basketweaving" comments aimed at Ole Miss' academics.
"(Basketweaving) is a hard thing to do. Have you ever tried it?" Golding asked. "Obviously, from an academic standpoint, I don't have to sit up here about what Ole Miss does and all that."
Not about the NCAA's ongoing tampering investigation into Ole Miss' recruitment of linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
"I don't worry about anything I can't control. That's out of my control."
Golding's sanguine attitude comes from years of coaching in the SEC, particularly at Alabama under Nick Saban. Golding saw firsthand all the arrows you take when you're the perceived king of the realm, as Alabama often was under Saban.
When you look at it from that perspective, rivals like Kiffin, Sarkisian and others talking about Ole Miss speak to the Rebels' arrival on the national scene. Ole Miss was a play away from playing against Indiana in the national championship game before falling to Miami 31-27 in the Fiesta Bowl. Notably, the Rebels return star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.
"I think our players do understand there is a bullseye in a circle on us now based on their success that they've done on the field over the last couple of years," Golding said. "That's going to be consistent moving forward and they've got to be able to block out the noise and focus on what they can control. That's all we're focused on right now."
To be clear, Golding's attitude on Wednesday shouldn't imply there's been zero frustration within Ole Miss over the onslaught of negative comments it has faced this month. Quite the opposite. And Golding got rolling when asked about Ole Miss becoming the face of tampering, even though many within the sport believe it is rampant.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney publicly criticized Golding and the Ole Miss program for alleged tampering of Ferrelli, who had signed with the Tigers before reversing course and ending up at Ole Miss. Golding's defense is that he took an official visit, wanted to be at Ole Miss, and wasn't aware he had signed elsewhere as he prepared for the Fiesta Bowl.
While he never mentioned him by name, Golding strongly implied that former Ole Miss linebacker T.J. Dottery, who followed Kiffin to LSU, was tampered with and that nothing came of it.
"We're not comparing that to a guy who has been a three-year starter somewhere that wasn't in the portal that's at a new school after going to the semis?" Golding said. "Like what are we doing? I think that's the piece where everybody's at. There's an enforcement of this...but there's not an enforcement of this. They just ruined his brand over three years. ... (has) been tampered with the entire time? What are we doing?"
Ole Miss opens its 2026 season against Louisville. It hosts former coach Lane Kiffin and his LSU Tigers in Oxford on Sept. 19th in what is already one of the most anticipated games of the season.
