Ole Miss coach Pete Golding navigating post-Lane Kiffin era, pushes back on NCAA tampering investigation

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. – Pete Golding has spent the spring watching Ole Miss take verbal shots from SEC peers. He was also publicly accused of tampering by Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney in January.

Addressing media members at SEC spring meetings on Wednesday, Golding made clear he’s not caught up on everyone else’s opinions of Ole Miss.

“I couldn’t care less what everybody else thinks of us,” Golding said. “I think our players understand, there’s a bull’s eye and a circle on them now based on their success and what they’ve done on the field. They’ve got to be able to block out the noise.”

Golding stepped in as the Ole Miss head coach when Lane Kiffin exited for LSU before the College Football Playoff run. The Rebels’ defensive coordinator picked up two wins in the CFP before falling to Miami in the semifinals to Miami.

Kiffin’s departure remains a topic Golding has had to navigate this offseason. He said on Wednesday that he’s still in communication with his former boss. Earlier this week, Kiffin suggested Ole Miss could have won the national title last year if he coached through the CFP and Golding stayed as defensive coordinator in the booth.

“I don’t think that had any impact on why we didn’t win the Miami game,” Golding said.

Swinney’s public accusation of Ole Miss and Golding’s tampering is well known at this point. Swinney took aim at the Rebels, openly stating that the Rebels’ flipping Cal transfer linebacker Luke Ferrelli from Clemson was a “straightforward case of tampering.” Ferrelli signed a rev-sharing contract with Clemson and moved to campus, just to unenroll and join Ole Miss.

“I think a lot of things make headlines,” Golding said. “There’s a lot more people involved that everybody might not know. Everyone wants clarity. Enforcement about a lot of these things is a real problem. I’m not going to sit up here and say whatever we did or we didn’t do, was it right or was it wrong? But, you know, when you go through what we went through (with tampering), and what you’re seeing day-in and day-out, some things you feel like shouldn’t matter that they’re making a big deal about.

“It’s about the enforcement about it, that’s what everybody wants. What are the rules going to be in place, and are they going to be enforced? Up to this point, that hasn’t happened.

Sources throughout the spring told On3 that Golding has told Ole Miss confidants that the NCAA knows he is willing to take down competitors if the Rebels are hit with tampering penalties. Sources have said Golding would be willing to expose more than 15 other schools of tampering.

“We’re talking about tampering, you don’t think coaches get tampered with?” Golding said on Wednesday. “We’re talking about the new Kiffin rule and all this shit, but who do you think is meeting with these [coaches] and offering them a job? Where we’re at in college football is not a really good place right now. A lot of things make headlines and there’s a lot more people involved that everybody might not know at this point.

“… Some things you feel shouldn’t matter that they’re making a big deal about, but I think it’s about the enforcement of it, and that’s what everybody wants. What are the rules and is everybody going to be held accountable to the same standard? Up to this point, that hasn’t been the case.”

Golding later referenced the issue of tampering relating to former Ole Miss linebacker T.J. Dottery, who transferred to LSU to follow Kiffin.

“Not comparing [Ferrelli] to a guy who’s been a starter somewhere that wasn’t in the portal that’s at a new school now after going to a semifinal — like what are we doing?” Golding said. “That’s the piece where everybody’s at. There’s an enforcement of [Ferrelli], who just took an, but there’s not an enforcement of [Dottery], who was here for three years, and he’s been tampered with the entire time? What are we doing?”