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OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - DECEMBER 20: Head coach Pete Golding of the Ole Miss Rebels looks on prior to the 2025 College Football Playoff First Round Game against the Tulane Green Wave at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on December 20, 2025 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

The Ole Miss Rebels made the College Football Playoff for the first time last season. Lane Kiffin led the Rebels to an 11-1 regular season record. After the regular season ended, Kiffin decided to take the LSU job and jump ship.

Kiffin wanted to stay and coach Ole Miss through the entirety of their CFP run. Athletic Director Keith Carter did not let him do that. Instead, he promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to become the interim head coach. Golding led the Rebels to two victories in the CFP, narrowly losing to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

A couple of weeks ago, Kiffin claimed that he could have led the Rebels to a national championship if he had been allowed to coach. Golding is now firing a shot back at him.

Ole Miss Rebels Coach Pete Golding Claims Lane Kiffin had no Effect on CFP Performance

According to On3, Golding fired back at Kiffin. He let everyone know that not having Kiffin is not why they lost that game to the Hurricanes.

“I don’t think that had any impact on why we didn’t win the Miami game.”

Golding is now the head coach for the Rebels, now that Kiffin left, as the interim tag was lifted. Kiffin has a history of leaving programs in a messy way, and this is the latest example of that. Golding was less than a minute away from playing for a national championship, but Carson Beck had other ideas.

Golding’s response was to Kiffin claiming he would have done things differently against Miami.

“Obviously, I wish the timing was different. There was no way around it. Tried to do everything possible to still coach and, obviously, that was (athletic director Keith Carter’s) decision and understandable. Do I still wish that had happened? Yeah, I do. I wish that would have been allowed to happen. Maybe we would have won it all.”

The Rebels Have Moved on to a Different Era

For now, Ole Miss still has Trinidad Chambliss on the roster for next season. It looks like he will be able to play, barring a major legal ruling. Having him back helps the Rebels’ chances of making the College Football Playoff for the second straight year.

The schedule is much tougher for the Ole Miss Rebels this season, however. They open up against Louisville at a neutral site. They also have to take on Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt on the road. However, they do get to take on Kiffin’s Tigers at home.

That game will certainly have more juice to it after these comments have been fired back and forth between each coach. Golding has an immense amount of confidence that his team is going to be good enough to not just beat LSU, but make another deep run in the College Football Playoff.