Ole Miss coaching rumors tracker: Rebels promote Pete Golding to full-time job after Lane Kiffin's exit

Dan Treacy

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Ole Miss coaching rumors tracker: Rebels promote Pete Golding to full-time job after Lane Kiffin's exit image

Ole Miss' coaching search after Lane Kiffin's departure wasn't much of a search at all.

While reports indicated the Rebels reached out to Jon Sumrall and Alex Golesh before they accepted other SEC jobs, Ole Miss ultimately decided to promote from within and make defensive coordinator Pete Golding their head coach without the interim tag.

Golding will make his head coaching debut in the College Football Playoff, but the program is his going forward after Kiffin's awkward departure for LSU. 

AllSportsPeople tracked the news and rumors regarding Ole Miss' coaching search below. 

MORE: Tracking all college football coach hirings

Ole Miss coaching rumors tracker

Pete Golding named Ole Miss head coach

  • Date: Sunday, Nov. 30
  • Source: Ole Miss

Ole Miss officially announced Pete Golding as its next head football coach, promoting the 41-year-old defensive coordinator on a full-time basis.

Pete Golding expected to be Ole Miss' full-time head coach

On3's Pete Nakos, along with other reports, confirm Pete Golding is set to be named Ole Miss' full-time head coach. While the program hasn't yet made an announcement, one player was heard calling it the "Pete Golding era" when leaving the team meeting to discuss Kiffin's exit on Sunday.

Kiffin announces departure for LSU

Lane Kiffin has announced he is leaving Ole Miss for LSU, confirming reports. In a statement, Kiffin said he will "forever cherish" his time at Ole Miss and said his request to coach the team through the end of the season was denied. 

Pete Golding strong candidate for full-time job

Defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who is expected to be Ole Miss' interim coach, is a candidate for the full-time job, according to multiple reports, with ESPN's Pete Thamel reporting Golding is expected to be the Rebels' "permanent" head coach. 

Kiffin has not yet officially announced his departure.

Pete Golding, Joe Judge candidates to coach Ole Miss in playoff

Defensive coordinator Pete Golding and quarterbacks coach Joe Judge are candidates to coach Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff on an interim basis, according to Ole Miss insider Neal McCready. Golding has no head coaching experience but worked under Nick Saban as defensive coordinator for five seasons, while Judge was the New York Giants' head coach in 2020 and 2021. 

Alex Golesh, Jon Sumrall accept other jobs

  • Date: Sunday, Nov. 30
  • Source: Auburn, ESPN

Two potential Ole Miss candidates are now off the board, as USF's Alex Golesh will be the next head coach at Auburn while Jon Sumrall is being hired by Florida.

Sumrall, who was briefly an assistant at Ole Miss under Matt Luke, was reported to be a potential Rebels target, while Golesh's name was a popular one at Arkansas, Auburn and Ole Miss before ultimately accepting the Tigers job.

Ole Miss already speaking to candidates

Ole Miss has started speaking to coaching candidates as of Saturday night, Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger reports. That list included Alex Golesh and Jon Sumrall, but both came off the board Sunday morning when Golesh accepted Auburn job and Sumrall became the next head coach at Florida. 

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