Ole Miss acted fast after Lane Kiffin boarded that plane to Louisiana, promoting defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach. The rush seemed fitting given how bitter the exit was. Kiffin even blamed AD Keith Carter for not allowing him to stay for the playoffs. However, the new LSU HC showed no hostility towards his successor by including a message for Golding, especially since Kiffin is the one who hired him to lead the Rebels’ secondary.

“So happy for everyone!!! Great hire,” Kiffin wrote on his Instagram story.

Golding, who came from Alabama’s staff and led a defense that powered Ole Miss to an 11-1 regular season, will now steer the Rebels through their first-ever College Football Playoff.

The message feels sincere, but over the past few weeks, the focus on Ole Miss has shifted more to Kiffin’s exit drama than on the Rebels’ actual wins. However, Keith Carter drew a hard line that Kiffin wouldn’t be allowed to coach the Rebels in the playoffs if he had signed a deal with the rivals. Kiffin begged to stay, but was flat-out denied.

“My request to do so was denied by Keith Carter despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance,” Kiffin wrote. “Unfortunately, that means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels.”

Even the fans booed and made vulgar gestures as he left. Kiffin fired back publicly, blaming Carter and airing grievances, stirring even more heat. The grudge gets heavier as Pete Golding receives the benefit of the doubt to lead the Rebels. Keith Carter definitely didn’t want a circus search while the building was on fire. Golding already had the locker room, the SEC experience, and the headset. His defense at Ole Miss has allowed 20.1 points per game. Then add in his Alabama pedigree.

He spent five seasons at Tuscaloosa, calling Nick Saban’s defense and multiple top-10 finishes in scoring or total defense. There’s also a bit of culture play here. Golding’s a Southern defensive guy who talks toughness, discipline, and development instead of trolling on social media. It’s something the University can get a break from after Kiffin’s exit.

But it’s not as if Kiffin and Golding have any bad blood between them. In fact, Kiffin spoke very highly of him back at the 2023 SEC Media Days.

“Pete Golding coming in on defense, we’re really excited about that change and what he brings,” Kiffin said. “To bring him over from Alabama, have known Pete and people that work with him for a long time. He’s ahead of the game, very intelligent, really great recruiter as well.”

When coaching drama threatens a playoff dream

Imagine clinching a College Football Playoff spot only to suddenly face the possibility of losing it because your coach jumped ship before postseason play. Yeah, that’s the new kind of worry swirling around Oxford. The CFP committee doesn’t just look at wins and losses; they weigh the stability of a team entering the big dance. And guess what? Ole Miss now finds itself in an awkward spot without Kiffin.

“We’ll take care of that when it happens,” College Football Playoff selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek said after the Week 13 results. “We don’t look ahead. The loss of a player, the loss of a key coach is in the principles of how we rank the teams. But again, we don’t have a data point for Ole Miss without their head coach.”

Why does the coach matter so much? The CFP selection rules take into account factors such as key player injuries and coaching availability that might affect a team’s playoff performance. The committee’s decision to exclude undefeated Florida State in 2023 following the injury to its quarterback is a memorable example. Similarly, Ole Miss is walking a fine line of uncertainty because losing Kiffin disrupts continuity and could affect the team’s postseason execution.

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Though the expanded 12-team playoff might give Ole Miss a slight edge compared to that Florida State snub. Still, the Rebels’ playoff fate isn’t sealed. The drama deepened because Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter wouldn’t budge on Kiffin’s plea to coach through the playoffs. Kiffin wanted to stay. But Carter held firm. This left Ole Miss with Pete Golding as the interim and now permanent coach. Will the Rebels rally behind Golding, or will the absence of Kiffin leave a gaping hole that jeopardizes their playoff status?