Lane Kiffin explains why he expects a 'learning curve' with new DC Pete Golding

One of the more interesting offseason coaching moves in college football came when Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding left Tuscaloosa to take the same position at Ole Miss.

The Rebels have gotten a chance to practice under Golding all spring and it’s been quite the adjustment. Coach Lane Kiffin explained the stark change.

“There’s a learning curve there because it was a very — any time you get a new staff there’s a learning curve — but there was a very big difference in the systems that we have,” Kiffin said. “So lot of learning left to do and very excited about the new system, what our guys are doing.”

Pete Golding was certainly an interesting hire.

While it’s unclear what might have happened had he not departed for the Ole Miss job, he was under fire from the Alabama fanbase after leading what many viewed as a porous defense.

The Crimson Tide finished ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense and 12th in total defense, but some individual situations proved costly. The defense gave up 385 yards passing and 52 points in a loss to Tennessee, then gave up 367 yards and 32 points in a loss to LSU.

How the Rebels fare in 2023 in his system likely depends on how well players pick things up.

Kiffin noted, too, that there are more system transitions than ever with the increasing popularity of the NCAA transfer portal. As rosters turn over more, there’s less continuity and more new teaching each time.

“We get players nowadays that come from very different systems and so we have to basically retrain them, which you’re used to doing with high school kids, obviously,” Kiffin said.

“Now you’ve got kids that are older, they’ve been places. Like Malik Heath a year ago, he’d been at Mississippi State and he was a senior. Now here’s Chris Marshall and we’ve got to train him to do things our way, and so there is a process with that. Pretty interesting to see so many a year ago, like Jaxson (Dart)‘s class, then now all these again have to work together to help each other out on that.”

In any case, Ole Miss will certainly be hoping they get the version of Golding that Alabama coach Nick Saban anticipated when he initially made the hire.

Pete Golding spent the past five seasons at Alabama, arriving in 2018 after a stint at UTSA from 2016-17. Golding also has previous experience at Southern Miss, Southeastern Louisiana and Delta State.

The Ole Miss coordinator played safety at Delta State from 2002-05.