Golding on Ole Miss criticism: 'Couldn't care less…

MIRAMAR, Fla. — Pete Golding has been head coach at Ole Miss for just three games, but that hasn’t kept him from having to deal with criticism and controversy coming from all sides.

At the SEC’s spring meetings Wednesday, Golding addressed the latest barrage — tampering allegations by Clemson, digs at Ole Miss’s educational standards by Texas and insinuations of a racist culture around Oxford by former coach Lane Kiffin — by suggesting the whirlwind of commentary from outside the program speaks to the success Ole Miss is having on and off the field.

“I couldn’t care less what everybody else thinks of us,” Golding said. “I think our players understand, there’s a bull’s-eye and a circle on them now based on their success and what they’ve done on the field. They’ve got to be able to block out the noise.”

Golding said he maintains a strong relationship with Kiffin, who left Ole Miss in controversial fashion before its playoff run last year.

“[He] hits me up every day,” Golding said, downplaying Kiffin’s comments about the racial dynamics at play in recruiting to Oxford, Mississippi, as compared with LSU.

“Obviously there’s a Lane side for us that we’re buddies and are friends, and then there’s professional side that I have to get on his ass about a little bit sometimes,” Golding said. “Every time he gets in front of a camera, they’re bringing up Ole Miss.

“The breakup wasn’t perfect. … Some of those last comments that he made, I think anybody that’s been to Oxford knows that’s not where we’re at right now. I’ve lived all over the Southeast, and we all got our own issues, but I think the biggest thing is make sure people come to Oxford and see for themselves.”

Golding also downplayed comments from Kiffin this week suggesting the Rebels would’ve won a national championship last season if he’d been allowed to coach through the playoff with Golding serving as defensive coordinator in the booth.

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

As for Sarkisian’s jab that it was easier to transfer to Ole Miss, where players can “take basket weaving and get a degree,” Golding said he appreciated the Texas’ coach’s advertising.

“I told him I appreciate it,” Golding said. “I know if I’m a transfer, I’d much rather take basket weaving than biology. We appreciate [his] help and support.”

On Tuesday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said the league continues to review the comments from both Kiffin and Sarkisian and said he has advised his league’s coaches to keep their public statements in line with the conference’s expectations.

Meanwhile, Golding largely deflected when asked about the ongoing NCAA investigation into linebacker Luke Ferrelli, who left Clemson after enrolling in January following alleged direct contact by Golding when the player was not in the transfer portal.

“That’s why we have a compliance department,” Golding said. “There’s been an investigation, and all that type of stuff will come out. We know the guidelines in place. It’s my responsibility to hold [assistant coaches] accountable and to set a really good example.”

Golding did take exception with his role as the most public example of enforcement of tampering rules, saying the issue is rampant in the sport and referencing his own linebacker, TJ Dottery, who transferred to join Kiffin at LSU after two years as a starter at Ole Miss.

“Not comparing [Ferrelli] to a guy who’s been a [multiyear] starter somewhere that wasn’t in the portal that’s at a new school now after going to a semifinal — like, what are we doing?” Golding said. “That’s the piece where everybody’s at. There’s an enforcement of [Ferrelli], who just took an [official visit to Ole Miss], but there’s not an enforcement of [Dottery] who’s … been here for three years, and he’s been tampered with the entire time? What are we doing?”

Golding also scoffed at the notion of enforcing tampering penalties for players but not coaches, again referencing Kiffin’s controversial departure from Ole Miss before the playoff.

“We’re talking about the new Kiffin rule and all this s—, but who do you think is meeting with these [coaches] and offering them a job?” Golding said. “Where we’re at in college football is not a really good place right now. A lot of things make headlines and there’s a lot more people involved that everybody might not know at this point. … Some things you feel shouldn’t matter that they’re making a big deal about, but I think it’s about the enforcement of it, and that’s what everybody wants: What are the rules, and is everybody going to be held accountable to the same standard? Up to this point, that hasn’t been the case.”