Pete Golding: 'There's no bigger critic on me than me'

Alabama‘s immense success in recent years has led to understandably high expectations from the fanbase. So how does the coaching staff deal with criticism when the fans aren’t happy?

Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Pete Golding draws on lessons he learned as a child back home in Louisiana.

“My old man was a high school coach growing up,” Golding said Monday when asked how he handles disgruntled fans. “So I think it was something I learned at an early age from my mom. She was like ‘Look, some people are going to love your dad, some people are going to hate your dad. It’s still your dad. You’re always going to love your dad.’”

Golding, 37, is a native of Hammond, La. His father, Skip, has been coaching football since 1979, and he is currently coaching at Varnado High School in Angie, Louisiana. He is a huge Miami fan, a topic which came up on “The Paul Finebaum Show” ahead of Alabama’s opening game this year against Miami.

The younger Golding is in his fourth year in Tuscaloosa, as he was the Alabama linebackers coach in 2018 before taking over the defensive coordinator role in 2019. He played college football at Delta State.

“I don’t listen to the outside noise, to be honest with you,” Golding added. “If you’re a football coach and you do that, I think you get out of this profession pretty quick. You go start selling insurance and playing golf. So obviously, there’s no bigger critic on me than me.”

Of course, there is one person in Tuscaloosa to which Golding will certainly listen: Alabama head coach Nick Saban.

“Obviously, Coach Saban does a great job and stays on top of us to make sure we’re going things correctly,” Golding said of his boss. “But, obviously, I also want to put a great product on the field, and that comes with great preparation throughout the week, demanding that from your guys, making sure you’re getting it in practice. Obviously, schematically being sound, and trying to get guys in the right place, but more importantly throughout the week, demanding it. And then I think it shows up.”

Golding’s players are clearly listening and putting in the work, as Alabama has consistently had one of the better defenses in the SEC for the last decade. This season, they are the third-best scoring defense in the conference, allowing 20.2 points per contest.

They will put that defense to the test on Friday afternoon, as they take on Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl with a trip to the national championship on the line.