Pete Golding invoked Ole Miss's Lane Kiffin hate to keep Trinidad Chambliss

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Pete Golding did an incredible job holding Ole Miss together on short notice. The former defensive coordinator was thrown into the spotlight when head coach Lane Kiffin departed Mississippi to take over at LSU. He wound up promoted hastily as Kiffin snuck off to a higher profile position with a conference rival just before the College Football Playoff began.

He went 2-1 against some of the toughest competition the game had to offer. He beat Tulane and Georgia to make it to the FBS final four and guided his team to a third place ranking in the AP Top 25 — Ole Miss's highest end-of-season placement since 1962. His work wasn't done after a Fiesta Bowl loss to Miami (FL), however. He then had to protect his roster from transfer portal pillaging, including overtures to join Kiffin in Baton Rouge.

In the end, Golding was able to keep his two biggest stars: quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and tailback Kewan Lacy. How? By pointing out how heavily and quickly the Ole Miss faithful turned on the coach who got them to the playoff in the first place.

Per ESPN's David Hale, here's what Golding told his playmakers this offseason.

“'Football’s gonna end. What are you going to use? You gotta use an alumni base to be able to get you a job. Where are you gonna bring your kids to? What jersey are they wearing? Y’all two created a legacy in one season that’s gonna be hard for anybody to overtake, and for what’s going on now, for Coach Kiffin to leave — go Google Lane Kiffin,'" said Golding, explaining his pitch.

"I had them both do it in my office. 'Google Lane Kiffin, the dude they’d have built a statue of here three days ago. Google his name right now. They wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. They’ll do the same thing to y'all too [if you leave]. But if you come out and say I’m going to continue to build on the legacy I’ve created, what that’s going to do for you and this fan base and the alumni for the rest of your life, I don’t give a [expletive] where you go or what they pay you, you’ll never amount to that much.'”

That's a pretty compelling argument, though it's a near certainty Mississippi opened up its pocketbook for two players who could have fetched deals in the seven figure range had they left. It's also a bit flawed. Kiffin went from savior to villain immediately because he was leaving

a) in the middle of one of the best seasons in school progress, with the playoffs on the horizon

b) for a longtime rival, and

c) with the opportunity to take a significant chunk of Ole Miss's players.

A and C wouldn't apply to Chambliss and Lacy. B would only be a factor if they stayed in the SEC — a possible outcome, but not guaranteed.

But that's not a good story for SEC Media Days. Stoking the flames of a rivalry that needed no fuel is. Golding used his fans' passion to pump himself up, make a pitch to future recruits and take a shot at a friend-turned-rival. It's his first Media Days as a head coach, and he's already talking like a veteran.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Pete Golding invoked Ole Miss's Lane Kiffin hate to keep Trinidad Chambliss

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