Pete Golding received an surprising promotion when he was named head soccer coach at Ole Miss in November 2025.
Golding benefited from heated contract negotiations between Ole Miss and its former head coach Lane Kiffin. Following the Ole Miss Rebels’ 38-19 win in opposition to the Mississippi State Bulldogs within the Egg Bowl on November 28, 2025, Kiffin signed a deal to turn into the new head coach at Louisiana State College.
Kiffin claimed he’d requested to remain on with Ole Miss by the postseason however was shot down by athletic director Keith Carter. That very same day, the college named defensive coordinator Golding as Ole Miss’ new head coach forward of their playoff recreation in opposition to Tulane on December 20, 2025.
“To the Ole Miss household, thanks to your assist and perception,” Golding stated in a press release on the time. “I’m excited for what’s forward, and I can’t wait to assault this problem collectively.”
Hold scrolling for extra details about Golding’s life and profession.
Pete Golding Changed Lane Kiffin as Ole Miss Head Soccer Coach
Lane Kiffin confirmed his departure as Ole Miss’ head coach on November 30, 2025, after prolonged negotiations with college administration. Kiffin left Ole Miss to take the pinnacle teaching job at Louisiana State College.
“After lots of prayer and time spent with household, I made the troublesome choice to just accept the pinnacle teaching place at LSU,” he introduced through X on November 30. “I hoped to finish a historic six season run with this 12 months’s group by main Ole Miss by the playoffs, capitalizing on the group’s unbelievable success and their dedication to complete sturdy, and investing every little thing right into a playoff run with guardrails in place to guard this system in any areas of concern.”
He continued, “My request to [stay on for the playoffs] so was denied by [Ole Miss Athletic Director] Keith Carter regardless of the group additionally asking him to permit me to maintain teaching them so they may higher keep their excessive stage of efficiency. Sadly, which means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my final recreation teaching the Rebels. Whereas I’m trying ahead to a brand new begin with a singular alternative at LSU, I’ll perpetually cherish the unbelievable six years I spent at Ole Miss and can be rooting exhausting for the group to finish their mission and convey a championship to Oxford.”
Lane Kiffin in December 2025. Tyler Kaufman/Getty Pictures
Ole Miss wasted no time in securing a brand new head soccer coach. Hours after Kiffin’s announcement, Carter revealed that defensive coordinator Pete Golding was being promoted to the pinnacle teaching job.
“We couldn’t be extra excited to announce Pete Golding as the subsequent head coach of the Ole Miss Rebels,” Carter stated in a press release. “His tenure will start instantly as he leads our program within the pursuit of a nationwide title. Right now’s group assembly was a transparent indicator of his skill to provoke our squad. All of our gamers and coaches are ecstatic and able to lock arms for a playoff run.”
Carter went on, “From the second he arrived in Oxford, we shortly realized Pete is a coach who couldn’t solely lead a program however elevate it to championship standing. He has demonstrated an distinctive soccer thoughts, however greater than that, he has proven a deep understanding of our tradition, values and what it means to be a part of the Ole Miss household. Merely put, Pete is one in all us.”
Pete Golding Mentioned Ole Miss Teaching Job Was an ‘Unimaginable Honor’
After Pete Golding’s hiring was introduced on November 30, 2025, he publicly thanked athletic director Keith Carter, chancellor Glenn Boyce and the “total Ole Miss management group” for the promotion.
“Oxford is house, and it’s an unbelievable honor to guide one of many nation’s premier applications, and I can’t wait to get to work instantly and put together this group to win a nationwide championship,” he stated in a press release.
Golding added that he’d felt nothing however “ardour, delight and unwavering assist” from Insurgent Nation since he was employed as a defensive coordinator in January 2023.
“It is a place the place expectations are excessive, and soccer is woven into the material of the neighborhood,” he stated. “Our mission transferring ahead is obvious: we’ll play with toughness, self-discipline and relentless effort in every little thing we do. We’ll recruit on the highest stage, develop our gamers on and off the sphere, and compete each single day to carry championships to Oxford. Most significantly, we’ll characterize this college with class and integrity.”
Pete Golding’s Teaching Profession Began in 2006
Golding was a four-year starter at Mississippi’s Delta State College between 2002 and 2005. In 2006, he began his teaching profession as a graduate assistant for then-Delta State head coach Rick Rhoades.
He labored his method up the ladder with defensive coordinator positions at a number of southern universities — together with Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Miss and the College of Texas at San Antonio — earlier than he was employed by legendary head coach Nick Saban on the College of Alabama in December 2017.
He stayed at Alabama for the subsequent 5 years till Lane Kiffin employed Golding to turn into Ole Miss’ new defensive coordinator in January 2023.
“At a number of stops in his profession, Coach Golding has directed a few of faculty soccer’s high defenses,” Kiffin stated in a press release on the time. “He’s additionally an impressive recruiter and understands the extent of expertise essential to compete on the highest stage. I believe this continues to indicate our dedication to taking Ole Miss soccer to the subsequent stage.”
Pete Golding Was Arrested for a DUI
Pete Golding publicly apologized throughout his tenure on the College of Alabama for being arrested on suspicion of driving underneath the affect in Northport, Alabama, in February 2022, reported The New York Instances.
“I’m deeply sorry for the actions that led to my arrest final night time,” Golding stated in a press release. “I sincerely apologize to my household, everybody in our group, together with our gamers, Coach Saban, the workers, the College of Alabama and our followers.”
Golding continued, “Whatever the consequence of this pending investigation, I didn’t uphold the values I’ve for myself and the values of the Alabama soccer program. I’m dedicated to studying and rising from this error and I’ll work to earn again the belief of those that I’ve dissatisfied.”
The College of Alabama launched its personal assertion to verify its management was “conscious of the incident involving Pete Golding.”
“We’re conscious of the seriousness of the scenario and can proceed to collect extra data to deal with this personnel matter,” a college spokesperson stated.
Whereas Golding resolved the case privately, he informed reporters in August 2022 that his arrest was proof that there are “penalties for making unhealthy choices.”
“I made a really poor choice that affected lots of different folks than simply myself. And it was egocentric,” he famous. “And it opened up lots of feelings for lots of people, as a result of folks may be affected by making that call. And I used to be improper, and I’ve received to endure the results for it.”
Golding assured reporters that he’d labored privately to make amends to his household and the Alabama soccer group.
“I’ve achieved lots of issues in my life, clearly, to regulate what I do to turn into a greater individual for it, as a father, a husband and a coach,” Golding stated. “Once I informed the group, I met with them that subsequent day. I stated ‘Look, man, I can let you know something I would like, however I’ve received to indicate you.’ To offer that management and get the belief again from the group, that I’ve made a mistake, I’ve discovered from it, and transfer on.”
Pete Golding is Married to Ole Miss Graduate Carolyn Golding
Pete Golding is married to Carolyn Golding, whom he met in Cleveland, Mississippi, whereas he was enjoying soccer for Delta State College. Carolyn is a Mississippi native who really graduated from Ole Miss in 2007 and later taught accounting on the faculty.
Pete and Carolyn donated $100,000 to Ole Miss in April 2024 to assist the college’s accountancy faculty. Because of their donation, an adjunct professor suite at Ole Miss’ Patterson Faculty of Accountancy was named within the Goldings’ honor.
“The accountancy faculty is No. 1 within the SEC and High 10 within the nation and it was that method after I was in faculty. I wished to assist the varsity in order that it could possibly proceed to develop and hold its excessive requirements,” Carolyn stated on the time.
Carolyn recalled that she had a “nice expertise within the accounting faculty, and I’ve lots of respect for the school” of Ole Miss.
“I’ve at all times excelled in math and numbers,” she defined. “Once I was little, I performed Monopoly loads and I at all times wished to be the banker to regulate the cash. I believe I’ve simply been inclined to be in accounting since childhood.”
Pete Golding Has 3 Youngsters
Pete Golding and his spouse Carolyn Golding have three kids: sons Braxton, 13, and Bentley, 10, and daughter Bailey, 7.
24/7 Sports activities reported that Braxton and Bentley had two questions when their dad was named the brand new Ole Miss head coach.
“Can I do the hearth extinguisher on the sideline?” they requested, together with: “Can I stroll [Lane Kiffin’s dog] Juice down the Insurgent Stroll?”
