When Lane Kiffin leads LSU to Oxford on Sept. 19, he'll go face-to-face with an army that wants his proverbial head mounted on a proverbial spike outside Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium. Everyone except the leader of that opposing army.
"Lane and I are good," Pete Golding said Wednesday at SEC media days.
Golding provided a lot of context to his relationship with Kiffin. Simply put: there wasn't one, at least until Kiffin offered Golding the opportunity to be the defensive coordinator in his adopted home state.
"I did not know Coach Kiffin prior to taking the Ole Miss job. And so I didn't come to Ole Miss because of Coach Kiffin. I came to Ole Miss to be at Ole Miss, to raise three kids. Our relationship really grew in those three and a half years and he did a lot for me. I was very, very appreciative of how he treated me and my family, and learned a lot from him. I have no ill will toward Coach Kiffin," Golding said.
There's also the unspoken but obvious: Kiffin's departure allowed for Golding's promotion to head coach. There would be no promotion without his departure, obviously. Golding said he wasn't seeking a head coaching position, but is grateful the opportunity presented itself. (The $4+ million raise surely doesn't hurt.)
"He texts me on a regular basis," Golding said. There's certain things that we'll talk about and certain things that we don't talk about. He's very competitive just like I'm very competitive. He's going to be super competitive to be the best that he can at (the LSU) job, which is his job. I can separate the two. I know some people can't. I probably shouldn't say this, but I don't care: I told an Ole Miss group the other day, in 2021 if you could look at 2025 and see you're about to be 11-1 and go to the Playoff, would you take it if your coach is leaving? They're like, "Hell yeah." Everybody won from it, it's okay. (Ole Miss AD Keith Carter) made a great hire, he did a great job. Every place isn't for everybody, and that's okay."
Golding's answer on Wednesday was a good one that Rebel Nation probably needed to hear, but it won't cool the temperature around Oxford come Sept. 19. That's okay. Fans will be fans. Kiffin will still get a lifetime's worth of boos, cold stares and middle fingers on his trip from the visiting hotel to the bowels of Vaught-Hemmingway. But when he meets Golding near the 50 during pregame warmups, the only thing he'll get from Golding his a smile and a bro hug.
"I have no ill will toward him at all," Golding reiterated. "Wish him the best of luck. We're going to play him just like every other team, we're going to both show up, spot the ball and play."