Pete Golding jokes about being ‘skinnier’ as head coach, stresses importance of delegating ‘bulls***’

Pete Golding seems to enjoy being the head coach of the Ole Miss football team because he’s getting healthier. While speaking to reporters during SEC Media Days on Wednesday, Golding was asked what the biggest change was for him moving from defensive coordinator to head coach. “(I’m) a little skinnier,” Pete Golding jokingly said. He then went on to discuss delegating different things to his coaching staff, which was the biggest difference for him. [ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ] “When I made the transition, and I knew I was still going to call the defense by talking to other people, and that’s really the only reason that was keeping me from taking a head job was I loved being a coordinator was I was going to hire guys that have to do all the head coach bulls*** that I don’t enjoy doing to where I can still focus on coaching football and still being around our guys,” Golding said. “…They handle all that crap, and they keep it off of my desk, so we can focus on still recruiting really good players and coaching good football.” Nick Saban says Pete Golding is a ‘ball guy’ Golding is entering his first full season as the head coach at Ole Miss. He became the head coach in late November of last year, when Lane Kiffin accepted the head coaching job at LSU. Ole Miss clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff, and Golding led the team to wins over Tulane and Georgia before losing to Miami in the semifinals. Ole Miss hired Golding to be its defensive coordinator in January 2023. Before joining the Rebels, the 42-year-old was on Alabama‘s coaching staff, working as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022. “I think Pete is a ball guy. He’s one of the best coaches that we had — and we’ve had some good ones that are having a lot of success out there as head coaches — and I think Pete is going to fit into that,” former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said at SEC Media Days. “He’s very authentic. He’s a good football guy. He knows personnel. He can recruit really well.”