As Pete Golding controls chaos, will Ole Miss lose coaches to LSU before Fiesta Bowl?

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NEW ORLEANS − Ole Miss football athletic director Keith Carter walked into a room strewn with folding chairs in the Caesars Superdome on Jan. 1 with a huge smile on his face.

Carter took a seat in the back and watched coach Pete Golding’s jubilant press conference. Golding spoke about Ole Miss’ 39-34 win vs. Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The game knocked the SEC champion Bulldogs (12-2) out of the CFP and advanced Ole Miss (13-1) to the CFP semifinals.

Golding will be about six weeks into his first head coaching job when he leads No. 6 Ole Miss against No. 10 Miami in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN). The winner will advance to the national championship Miami in Jan. 19 against No. 1 Indiana or No. 5 Oregon.

The situation gets crazier. Golding’s coaching staff is in flux. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who has been with Ole Miss for the first two CFP games, is one of a handful of coaches on staff who are committed to follow coach Lane Kiffin to LSU.

The Fiesta Bowl status of the LSU-bound Weis Jr., tight ends coach Joe Cox, wide receivers coach George McDonald and running backs coach Kevin Smith is uncertain, ESPN reported.

Carter spoke to a handful of reporters after Golding filed out of the room. While Carter reiterated that the performance is about the players, and not administrators, he said the win was satisfying on a personal level.

Carter’s decision to promote Golding from defensive coordinator after Kiffin left drew mixed reviews. A Golding-led team flaming out in the CFP would have heightened criticism.

“It was stressful,” Carter said. “But I knew Pete was the guy. I knew he was the guy for he short term, to hold this group together. And obviously for the long term, too. It’s awesome to be validated a little bit, from that standpoint. But give the credit to the guys.”

Carter said he spoke with Golding briefly after the game. Carter’s message was that he was impressed with Golding’s ability to multitask and reorient his roster. Since Kiffin left on Nov. 30, Golding has engineered a 41-10 domination of Tulane and eliminated the SEC champions.

“If Pete was the one being interviewed he would say it’s not about him,” Carter said. “It’s about these guys. But I could talk about Pete. Pete’s great. He’s going to be really, really good … We feel great about not only the next few weeks, but the future.”

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Will Pete Golding, Ole Miss lose coaches to LSU before Fiesta Bowl?

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