Nick Saban: Pete Golding chose 'a better opportunity' in going to Ole Miss
NASHVILLE — There is not a lot of effort needed in trying to find a way to put Ole Miss and Alabama in the same sentence but the task is even easier this season with a big offseason coaching move by Pete Golding within the Southeastern Conference.
Fourth year Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin hired Golding away from Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide in an effort to improve the Rebels defense and do so as fast as possible.
Golding has been in Oxford for around six months and got his first spring at Ole Miss under his belt. With SEC Media Days taking place this week it was the first time for Saban to be asked about Golding’s departure.
On Wednesday Saban was indeed asked about his now former defensive coordinator and Golding’s decision to change SEC West allegiances.
“Everybody needs to make their personal choices and decisions about where they think they can best develop their career,” Saban said. “Pete did a great job for us. I like Pete. He improved every year with us in terms of how he did his job, which I was always pleased with. He chose, for personal reasons or whatever reasons, that it was a better opportunity for him to go someplace else and that’s his prerogative.”
Golding served as Alabama’s defensive coordinator for five years. In 2019 he was given sole control of the defense after being a co-defensive coordinator in 2018.
In Golding’s last season in Tuscaloosa the Tide were the third best defense in the SEC holding opposing offenses to 318 yards per game. Alabama was behind Georgia and Kentucky in 2022.
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Now Golding comes to Ole Miss and being tasked with improving a defense that was middling at best last year.
The Rebels were the eighth best defense in the SEC last year under Chris Partridge. Golding is the lone guy calling the plays on the Rebels defense this year and installing a new scheme.
Most notable change is the four-man front that was immediately noticed during spring practices.
Newcomers such as Joshua Harris who are coming to Ole Miss at the same time as Golding are looking forward to seeing how they fit in this new defensive scheme.
“Here, we are going to base out of a four-man front and the inside guys on the defensive front are going to be put in a position to make more plays by stunting and more often just have single blockers to beat,” Harris told The Ole Miss Spirit earlier this month. “I can’t wait to play in this system. I loved it in spring and felt very comfortable in it.”
Saban, Golding and Kiffin will all reunite in a little over two months when Ole Miss opens up SEC play at Alabama on September 23.
