Why Ole Miss football coach Pete Golding only posts shark emojis on X

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When it comes to social media, Ole Miss football coach Pete Golding isn’t a man of many words – or any words.

Since being hired as Ole Miss‘ defensive coordinator on Jan. 14, 2023, Golding has almost exclusively posted shark emojis on his X account. That hasn’t changed since his hire as the Rebels’ head coach on Nov. 30 after Lane Kiffin left for LSU.

The posts are made to represent Ole Miss receiving a commitment from a prospective player. On the evening of Jan. 13, Golding posted a shark, and on the morning of Jan. 14, it was reported that former five-star quarterback Walker Howard had signed with Ole Miss out of the transfer portal, where he played from 2023-24.

On days when Ole Miss recruiting success requires Golding to post multiple sharks, he’ll add a period to skirt the sites rules about duplicate posts. On Jan. 10, Golding made three different shark posts, one with just a shark, one with a period followed by a shark and one with periods before and after a shark.

Of the 105 posts Golding has made while being employed by Ole Miss, only three are not exclusively sharks or sharks with periods.

On Aug. 19, 2023, he posted a winked face with its tongue out sandwiched between two sharks, and on Dec. 19, 2024, he posted two sharks followed by a sleeping emoji.

He’s made just one post with no sharks in it all. He posted the Trinidad and Tobago flag on Jan. 5 at 1:35 a.m., presumably hinting at star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’ announcement that he would return to Ole Miss if granted a sixth year of eligibility, which was made later that day.

Golding’s unusual social media activity dates back to his time as Alabama’s defensive coordinator as well. He used to tweet elephant emojis in the same manner.

The last time he tweeted a letter was July 25, 2021. The post was an elephant emoji followed by “RTR!” The last time he tweeted an actual word was on Jan. 11, 2021. It was a message of thanks and gratitude after Alabama won the national championship that same day.

Why does Pete Golding post sharks?

Although Ole Miss’ nickname is the Rebels, its official mascot has been a landshark since October 2017.

The choice stems from the nickname “landsharks” given to Ole Miss’ defense back in 2008. Former linebacker Tony Fein originated the reference. Players would often celebrate big plays by putting their hand to their forehead, mimicking a fin, and used “fins up” as a chant. Fans still use the “fins up” hand sign to celebrate the team.

In 2021, athletic director Keith Carter told the Ole Miss Spirit that the university would be de-emphasizing the mascot moving forward, with the landshark no longer appearing in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on game days.

Tia Reid covers Jackson State sports for the Clarion Ledger. Email her at treid@usatodayco.com and follow her on X @tiareid65.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Pete Golding, Ole Miss football coach, only posts sharks on X

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