Ole Miss defensive coordinator Pete Golding, on the heels of a record-setting season by the Rebels on defense, has signed a three-year contract extension that places him among the top four highest-paid defensive coordinators in college football.
Golding’s new deal averages $2.61 million annually. The only three defensive coordinators nationally with a higher annual average salary are Penn State’s Jim Knowles ($3.1 million), Auburn’s DJ Durkin ($2.7 million) and USC’s D’Anton Lynn ($2.65 million).
Golding will make $2.55 million this season, $2.6 million in 2026 and $2.7 million in 2027. His raise to $2.55 million this season will make him the second-highest-paid assistant coach in college football in 2025.
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Golding is entering his third season at Ole Miss after coming over from Alabama. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has put a premium on playing elite defense, and the Rebels — who have won 21 games during Golding’s two years on campus — are coming off one of their best defensive seasons in school history. They finished second nationally in scoring defense (14.4 PPG) and led the country in sacks per game with a school-record 52.
Ole Miss held nine of its 13 opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards and finished second nationally in rushing defense (80.5 YPG), the fewest allowed by an Ole Miss defense since 1966.
The Rebels lost nine players who started on defense at some point in 2024, including five players taken in the NFL draft. One of those was All-America defensive tackle Walter Nolen, the No. 16 selection overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
Golding told reporters this week that he expects the 2025 defense to be on a similar level as last year’s record-setting unit with a “good mesh” of high school recruits the Rebels have brought into the program in recent years and key transfer additions.
“From a [defensive] front standpoint, I don’t think we’re going to take a step back from last year,” Golding said. “There’s going to be some different names, but obviously the big thing with these guys is that they’ve been in the system. I think we’re going to have some guys, and y’all know their names already — having been big-time recruits — and they’re going to have to have big years for us and they’ve been practicing really well.”
Zxavian Harris leads a returning cast of interior defensive linemen, a group talented enough that Golding said the Rebels didn’t need to address tackle in the portal. Edge rusher Suntarine Perkins is back after tying for the team lead with 10.5 sacks last season, while Ole Miss added defensive ends Princewill Umanmielen (Nebraska) and Da’Shawn Womack (LSU) in the portal to go along with five new defensive backs.
“I think you’re going to see some different names, some different numbers and see a lot of the same results because they understand what we do, understand the expectations and are good enough to do it,” said Golding, whose defense went from tied for 40th nationally in scoring in 2023 to second a year ago.
