New Ole Miss Head Coach Takes Shot At Lane Kiffin In Authentic, Curse-Filled Interview

Pete Golding ain't about to start doing yoga.

Nobody knows how the Pete Golding era at Ole Miss is going to go. The defensive coordinator turned head coach in unprecedented circumstances, less than three weeks before the Rebels host their first-ever College Football Playoff game, may end up being a perfect fit in Oxford, a disaster, or somewhere in between those two extremes.

One thing we do know about Golding – outside the fact that he has huge shoes to fill left behind by Lane Kiffin – is that he is one-hundred percent authentically himself. He assured everyone of that while speaking with the media after the Rebels secured the No. 6 seed in the CFB Playoff.

"I'm not changing who I am," Golding stated. "I ain't changing what the hell I wear or going to yoga or playing pickleball. I ain't doing any of that sh-t. I am who I am. We're going to roll. We're going to do this thing the right way. I've done it a long time around a lot of good people, and we're going to give it our best shot and see what happens." 

Golding's note about yoga and playing pickleball was a direct shot at Kiffin, who essentially became a national spokesperson for hot yoga and pickleball during his final couple of seasons at Ole Miss before bolting for the LSU job.

Golding also went on to deliver what may be the quote of the 2025 college football season later on in his press conference.

"Obviously, you probably don't know me well, but I don't care if I'm coaching football or playing my wife in tennis, I'm trying to whip your ass," the new head coach emphatically said.

After his CFB Playoff presser, it's not hard to see why the majority of Ole Miss players were thrilled when athletic director Keith Carter announced that he would be taking over the program shortly after Kiffin took the job at Baton Rouge. 

Golding and the Rebels will welcome Tulane to Vaught Hemingway Stadium on December 20 in what will be the biggest, most lucrative day in the history of Ole Miss football. The Rebels handled the Green Wave with ease earlier in the year to the tune of a 45-10 final score in September.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, but wants it on the record that he does not bleed orange. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including BroBible, SB Nation, and The Spun. Mark also wrote for the Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate in 2016, the year the curse was broken. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.