Ole Miss will no longer be holding Pete Golding’s introductory press conference on Wednesday. The Rebels were slated to introduce Golding as their next head coach following the dramatic departure of Lane Kiffin, but have instead decided to shift their focus to the Rebels players.
“After reconsidering tomorrow’s activities, I have decided to shift the focus back to where it belongs — the team. Our players have not received the notoriety they deserve for their remarkable accomplishments this season. They have given their all to Ole Miss, and I want to see the spotlight placed on them and the mission in front of us,” Golding said in a statement.
Golding continued, “This time is not about my start as head coach. It is about finishing this season’s story with a playoff run, and we look forward to discussing the next step in that journey following Sunday’s selection announcement.”
Golding of course takes on the position of Ole Miss’s head coach after Kiffin opted to become the next coach of LSU, giving up the opportunity to coach the Rebels in their first College Football Playoff in the process. While Kiffin tried to brush off speculation surrounding his coaching future to focus on the players in his final weeks in Oxford, all he ended up becoming was a distraction to the team’s marked accomplishments.
Kiffin did try to stay at Ole Miss for the duration of the CFP—even claiming his players wanted him to do so, which some players have denied—but the Rebels opted to turn over the program to Golding and focus on their future instead. As he takes over Ole Miss, Golding will do
While Golding won’t formally introduce himself to the media just yet, he did get to introduce himself to the school during their men’s basketball game on Tuesday.
Golding received a roaring applause from the crowd as he said, “I appreciate it, but for real, it’s about these guys right here. I want the applause for the 2025 Ole Miss Rebels. ... Seventeen days from now, this group is going to finish what they started. We’re going to finish thing the right way. First time, first team in school history to make the playoffs. This is about these guys. Seventeen days from now, we need the Vaught ready to go.”
“17 days from now, this group is going to finish what they started.”
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) December 3, 2025
- @CoachGolding 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/zQiEcs9KxT
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as New Ole Miss Coach Had Classy Reason for Canceling Introductory Press Conference.
