What makes Pete Golding a good fit for how Lane Kiffin builds Ole Miss football roster
OXFORD — New Ole Miss football defensive coordinator Pete Golding is working with a secondary that, on its own, has added more transfer pieces this offseason (seven) than three different SEC programs have brought in total.
Alabama, which Golding left to join Lane Kiffin's staff in Oxford, is one of those three. The Crimson Tide made five offseason transfer acquisitions and three on defense. The Rebels have made three in the last two weeks.
Such is the way of life at Ole Miss, which Kiffin has fashioned into a program that embraces roster turnover as much as any in the nation. Golding, speaking to the media for the first time since his arrival this winter on Friday, expressed a willingness to be flexible that makes him a strong fit for the way Kiffin builds his roster.
"Every year, you don't really know what you have," Golding said. "Instead of trying to say, 'Hey, here's the system,' and trying to fit players to a system, you really try to say, 'Hey, who do we have and what can they do?' Let's put them in situations where they can excel."
Golding's experience at the lower levels of the game make him comfortable adjusting to his personnel, he said. He spent more than a decade coaching outside the Power 5 before arriving at Alabama in 2018.
According to Golding, his biggest challenge when working with new faces is gathering the data required to determine a player's strengths and weaknesses.
Eight of Ole Miss' defensive transfers over the offseason arrived after the conclusion of spring practice, meaning there's a real sense of urgency for Golding when it comes to roster analysis as the Rebels ramp up their preseason.
The first scrimmage, scheduled for Saturday and closed to the public, will be key to that end, Golding said.
"Let's make sure that we're asking them to do things that they can do and not put them in situations that they're not ready for," Golding said. "That's a little tougher than normal, because obviously a lot of guys that you evaluated last year from a personnel standpoint on tape aren't here."
Golding offers tactical flexibility, too.
The way Golding aligns his defensive front, which has mostly been a four-man unit throughout the spring and early preseason, can be altered the fit the situation.
Against certain opposition, Golding explained, a three-man front simply makes more sense mathematically.
"A lot of it's based on who you're playing," he said. "What they're doing, the rhythm of the throws. The previous coordinator (Chris Partridge) did a pretty good job with an-odd man front, but a lot of those teams they were probably playing were quick-rhythm, ball out in space, right? And you're wasting a guy.
"We're going to do whatever we need from a front structure in coverage dictated on who we play. We're not going to go, 'Well, this is who we are.' We're going to do whatever we need to do to win a football game."
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The Rebels have yet to finish in the top half of the SEC in points allowed per game under Kiffin, whose high-pace offense presents another obstacle for the man charged with running the Rebels' defense.
Kiffin will be hoping Golding can be the guy to solve those issues. His willingness to shift along with an Ole Miss program that is constantly changing is as good a starting platform as any.
"There's a lot of ways in football to win football games," Golding said.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Pete Golding good for how Lane Kiffin builds Ole Miss football roster
