Despite coaching changes, Ole Miss defeated Georgia by 39-34 to advance to the Fiesta Bowl. While the Rebels prepare for Miami, six assistant coaches left the program to join LSU, including the OC Charlie Weis Jr, PGC George McDonald, TE coach Joe Cox, RB coach Kevin Smith, WR coach Sawyer Jordan, and QBs coach Dane Stevens. At this stage, Pete Golding addressed the coaches’ availability for the Fiesta Bowl, admitting the situation is still in flux.

Following their first practice session for the Fiesta Bowl, the Rebels’ HC Pete Golding revealed that the coach’s availability is up to LSU, stating that they’re no longer Ole Miss-bound. He doesn’t know when they will get to know about the coach’s availability, but he provided hope that it will have no impact on the game.

“Communication has been constant the entire time,” said Golding on January 03 on the CFP media video conference. “They have every opportunity, as they have up to this point, to be able to make that decision. So week in and week out, I don’t dictate whether they do that or not, because they’re not employed by me. Up to this point, that’s how it’s been, and that’s my expectation. Our players know what to do. It’s going to have no impact on the game. Keep blowing it up and making it a big deal; it’d be great.”

When asked about when they would come to know about the coaches’ availability, he had no idea about it, but ensured that the situation behind-the-scenes will not affect how the team performs on the field.

“We don’t know. It’s grown people making decisions, so I have no idea. We’re going to go out there and spot the ball. We got plenty. Enough people in this building who showed up this morning. We’ll be just fine.”

While the head coach is oblivious, an Ole Miss source told ESPN that no LSU assistants returned to Oxford after the Sugar Bowl, except Weis. It was said that the rest of the assistants will be at Baton Rouge to assist LSU with transfer portal recruiting. 

At this stage, Pete Golding insists Ole Miss remain focused on the upcoming Fiesta Bowl, to chase the ultimate prize, irrespective of how the communication turns out.

Ole Miss vs Miami ‘Fiesta Bowl’ Preview

This is the first matchup between Ole Miss and Miami since 1951, and it is both teams’ first national semifinal meeting. Both reached the semifinals, defeating higher-ranked, former national champions, in the quarterfinals. Despite their strong performances, both teams had their fair share of criticisms. Ole Miss was called out by fans, claiming that they played dirty to pick up the win.  

All criticisms aside, the Rebels pulled a major upset win (39-34) in a rematch against the SEC champions, Georgia, in the Sugar Bowl. It was the second biggest win under the new head coach, Pete Golding, in the playoffs. On the other hand, the Hurricanes also pulled an upset, knocking off the defending champs, Ohio State, in the Cotton Bowl with a 24-14 win. 

Despite similarities in the CFP journey, both have contrasting identities. The Canes are built around a punishing and disciplined defense that has only allowed 17 total points across two playoff games. On the other hand, ever since Lane Kiffin left the program, Ole Miss’s CFP run has become fully dependent on its high-powered offense that has piled up 80 points under Pete Golding’s helm.

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Despite similarities and contrasts, the oddsmakers favor Miami as a 2.5 favorite over Ole Miss. The odds suggest anything could happen on the field when they enter the Fiesta Bowl on January 08.