Coach Pete Golding held his first media availability today as Head Coach following the announcement that Ole Miss would be hosting the first round of the College Football Playoff at Vaught Hemingway Stadium, and Coach Golding spent the time shifting the focus from him being named the Head Coach to the guys that earned Ole Miss their first-ever bid to the College Football Playoff. Often, coaches will use the time to do coaches speak, but the in-depth answers from Coach Golding provided Ole Miss fans with even more excitement for not only the College Football Playoff but for the future of Ole Miss football under Coach Golding. 

Before we talk about what Coach had to say about the guys, we first have to touch on Coach Golding himself. Coach dropped a few curse words and gave real, honest, human answers to every question, a change in the coach’s speak and cryptic posts on X that Ole Miss had to deal with for six years under the former head coach. Coach Golding is a football guy who cares about his guys finishing what they started by competing and potentially bringing a national championship trophy back home to Oxford. Coach talked about everything under the sun, from what this moment means to the guys on the roster, to being player-led, and about how his group of guys is the true definition of being a selfless team that’s worried about honoring their promise to Ole Miss by producing a product that Rebel Nation will be proud of while competing for a National Championship. Coach Golding might be unpolished to some, but he truly seems like he cares about Ole Miss and the game of football, bringing two good coaches to both of the in-state SEC jobs. 

As far as some of the things he talked about with the media on Sunday afternoon, outside of a refreshing change with the attitude towards everything that has to do with the program, is the time he spent talking about the selfless actions of the team and how each one of the guys on the roster comes into the College Football Playoffs ready to go to war for the guy next to them. Despite all the noise of the last few weeks, the guys on the roster have remained steadfast on the mission that was placed in front of them before the season. That goal is simple: win a National Championship and set the standard for future Rebels to follow. 

Coach Golding was then asked about the focus of the team with all the outside noise. Coach Golding answered in the most direct but best way possible by saying he does not want anyone on this roster who doesn’t want to be there and that’s not there to play for Ole Miss. Messgaing was simple, but direct, and set the standard for the Rebels to follow as they head into the College Football Playoff opener with Tulane. 

We’ve seen it all season long with this Ole Miss team. The selfless attitude has gotten the Rebels this far, and with a selfless leader back at the helm, the ceiling for Ole Miss in this College Football Playoff has been shattered. What would have ruined teams in the past has all but brought these guys and the coaches remaining closer and more eager than ever to finish the job and to prove the ones who opted to leave them high and dry on the wrong side of all this. There’s just something special about this Ole Miss team. Those who know and have been around from the jump understand that under the right leadership, combined with the player-led leadership, bringing a National Championship trophy home to Oxford is not only the goal but the reality. 

Ole Miss and Tulane are set to kick off in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday afternoon, December 20th, with a kickoff slated for 2:30 on TNT. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Football on X