Golding: Up to LSU which assistants can coach for Ole Miss

Ole Miss coach Pete Golding says it’s up to LSU to determine how many of Lane Kiffin’s assistants can continue to coach their former team as the Rebels prepare for Thursday’s Vrbo Fiesta Bowl against Miami.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., tight ends coach/co-offensive coordinator Joe Cox, wide receivers coach/passing game coordinator George McDonald and running backs coach Kevin Smith have all signed contracts to coach with Kiffin at LSU. A source said all of them returned to LSU’s campus Friday to welcome official visits for the first day of the transfer portal window.

Sources told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that the Rebels aren’t certain they will have all of those assistants with them when they play the Hurricanes.

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“They have every opportunity like they have up to this point to be able to make that decision,” Golding said Saturday on a CFP media videoconference. “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.”

A source told Schlabach that some of the assistants have pushed back on leaving an Ole Miss team that is two victories away from winning a national championship.

“There are going to be some fireworks,” an Ole Miss source said. “We always knew this might be a possibility.”

Golding downplayed the whole situation even though he still doesn’t know who will be available — or when he might find out.

“Our players know what to do,” he said. “It’s going to have no impact on the game. Keep blowing it up and making it a big deal, it’d be great.”

Asked when he would know which assistants would be available to coach, Golding said, “I don’t know. Do you know if you’re going to show up at work tomorrow? I mean, 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.”

Senior analyst/pass game specialist Dane Stevens and graduate assistant Sawyer Jordan, who helps with slot receivers, are also leaving for LSU. Still, Golding said his current staff is “filled with elite coaches everywhere” who are more than capable of handling the job.

“A lot of guys that y’all don’t know by name are actually the ones instructing and teaching players,” he said. “And so we have an elite staff that’s been together for a long time that knows the ins and outs. So no different than during COVID when a coach didn’t show up for the game. … These things obviously come up every year, and guys try to do both jobs and they have responsibilities of the new job that take precedence, especially in times like this, and then they can make both work. If they can’t, they can’t. That would not be any reason for success or lack of success with this game. The playcallers haven’t changed.”

Kiffin was named LSU’s coach on Nov. 30. Golding, who was named as Kiffin’s replacement only hours after Kiffin’s abrupt departure, has coached the Rebels to CFP wins against Tulane and Georgia. Golding said his communication with Kiffin has been “constant the entire time,” which Kiffin also told ESPN on Friday.

“Everything has been extremely clear and transparent between myself and Pete Golding through constant communication, including a plan all the way through this historic championship run,” Kiffin said.

Golding said coaching transitions are an issue many teams deal with through the postseason but that “everybody’s targeting us on this.”