Mississippi to be without 2 assistant coaches in Fiesta Bowl

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Mississippi will be without two assistant coaches for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 8, head coach Pete Golding confirmed Wednesday morning, Jan. 7.

The Rebels will be missing wide receivers coach George McDonald and tight ends coach Joe Cox, both of whom were hired by new Louisiana State head coach Lane Kiffin, who left Ole Miss in late November to take the LSU job and lured five prominent assistants from the Rebels.

McDonald and Cox opted to take on full-time duties at LSU rather than stay with Ole Miss through the College Football Playoff. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith remain with the Rebels staff but are doing double duty — game preparation with Mississippi and recruiting with LSU — as they will head to Baton Rouge to join Kiffin's staff when the Ole Miss season ends.

Weis will call plays in the Fiesta Bowl. He did not speak to media in the days leading up to the game, as Ole Miss made other offensive coaches available.

McDonald and Cox are no longer listed on the Mississippi football coaching staff web page. Fisher Ray, who is listed as an Ole Miss senior analyst, is working with the tight ends, quarterbacks coach Joe Judge said Tuesday night, Jan. 6.

"That's been something that's coming the whole time," Golding said Wednesday. "There's been constant communication. They have another job that is paying them, and they have a responsibility. And at this time, the way the calendar is now, and I wasn't going to get into this, they have 35 guys that are in the (transfer) portal. So they have to build a team.

"Do they want to be here? Yeah, you're damn right they do."

Golding launched into a quick rant about how the timing of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals and semifinals, at the same time as players are entering the transfer portal and being recruited, is not ideal for coaches with teams still playing.

"Where their window is right now, we've made it when it's in the semifinals of the national championship," Golding said. "But we can take a break in the season with a bye week and play a I-AA team with no portal open, and not have to worry about retention of your players. But you get off of a plane at 3 a.m. (from the Sugar Bowl Jan. 1), and you've got six days to play one of the best teams in the country.

"You're trying to retain your own roster from going into the portal, then you've got to do (player) visits from (January) 2nd through the 5th, because you've got to be out here (at the Fiesta Bowl) the 5th to get official visits in of portal guys. On top of (that), (assistant coaches) are taking jobs at other places."

Golding: Moral of Kiffin departure is everyone is replaceable

Golding was asked if there is a message to Kiffin and those who doubted that his team would be where it is, with two CFP wins.

"Our team had a message by how they prepared, and how they play, and that they weren't tired of playing," Golding said. "And I do think the message is, 'I'm replaceable, you're replaceable, our players are replaceable.' I think you want to build a program to where it's heading in the right direction, and one person, one player, anything like that is not going to derail that.

"One person is not going to impact something so drastically. If it is, it's probably not built right. If one coach in any sport can determine the outcome of it, he probably doesn't have a very good staff."

The timing of Kiffin's departure, right at the end of the regular season, was fine because the culture and infrastructure and identity of the Ole Miss program was already in place, Golding said.

"The only thing that was different was who's running them out of the tunnel," Golding said. "And to be honest with you, I don't think the players give a damn about who's running them out of the tunnel. They care about their plan. They care about being held accountable and how they're going to prepare. They care about them, and I think that's been the message our players have created.

"I don't have (expletive) to say to anybody else."

Defensive lineman Will Echoles said Kiffin's abrupt departure didn't lower team morale.

"We set out a goal back in the spring," Echoles said. "We're not going to let somebody who was just coaching us to interfere with that. So I don't want to say it messed us up, but we knew what our main goal was."

Lacy runs it back

Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, among the nation's leaders in rushing yards, re-signed with the Rebels this week and will be returning to the program next season. He said the people at Mississippi are a major reason for him staying.

"Great coaches, great teammates and the fans are just amazing," Lacy said. "That all just played a part."

Lacy and Arizona State running back Kyson Brown played with each other at Lancaster High School in Texas, splitting the ball carrier duties. Lacy had a recruiting visit to ASU.

"We never left the field," Lacy said. "If I was at running back, he'd be at receiver. If I was at receiver, he'd be at running back. We're real tight."

Lacy said Brown will be in attendance at the Fiesta Bowl.

José M. Romero can be reached at jose.romero@gannett.com. Follow him on X at @RomeroJoseM or Instagram at @romerojosem.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mississippi coach says Kiffin didn't derail team at CFP, Fiesta Bowl

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