After spending the last five years with the Alabama Crimson Tide, former defensive coordinator Pete Golding will be taking on a new challenge in 2023. This offseason, Golding decided to join another former Alabama coordinator, Lane Kiffin, at Ole Miss, where he will again be responsible for calling the shots defensively.
Golding was a key recruiter for the Tide and a massive part of the 2020 national championship team, but things seemed to tail off in his final two seasons in Tuscaloosa. Golding is still one of the best defensive coordinators in the game, but Saban and the staff at Alabama felt like it was time for a fresh start for both parties. This year, the Crimson Tide defense will be led by Kevin Steele, who was the DC of the Saban era.
Ole Miss football had its first scrimmage of the offseason recently. During the media availability, Golding was asked about some of the distinctions between his former head coach Nick Saban and new boss, Lane Kiffin.
Golding was highly complimentary of both, but especially of Kiffin by adding that while they do a lot of things similar to Alabama.
“I think Coach Kiffin does a really good job of putting his own personality on the program while still not getting away from the culture and foundation and discipline and toughness and all those things you need for a winning program… He and I both learned a lot from there (Alabama).”
Ole Miss will travel to Tuscaloosa on Sept. 23 in Golding’s first crack at his former team. The Tide currently carries a seven-game winning streak over the Rebels.
Asked Ole Miss DC Pete Golding if Nick Saban & Lane Kiffin have any similarities:
Both are super intelligent
Demand discipline (in different ways)
Have similar mannerisms"What I love about Coach Kiffin is a lot of things that helped Bama get to where they are, we do"
More: pic.twitter.com/fUUdaavUXV
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) August 11, 2023
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