Pete Golding reveals who is coaching for him against Miami, and he fires a shot at the current state of college football
Ole Miss’s head coach had some strong words when asked about who will be coaching in the Fiesta Bowl.
Will they or won’t they? That’s been the question surrounding Ole Miss’s coaching staff and their availability to coach this week ahead of their College Football Playoff semifinal clash with the Miami Hurricanes on Thursday night in the Fiesta Bowl.
As it turns out, the answer to that question is: some. Pete Golding was asked directly during his joint press conference on Wednesday with Mario Cristobal about who will be on the Rebels’ sideline on Thursday among his departing staff, and he revealed that three assistants will still be coaching and two are gone from the program.
He also took a not-so-subtle shot at the current state of college football, which is completely understandable given the circumstances.
Pete Golden says TE coach Joe Cox and WR coach George McDonald are not coaching in the Fiesta Bowl
“Obviously, John Garrison, our offensive line coach that we’ve had all year,” Golden said. “We’ve got our running backs coach Kevin Smith that we’ve had all year. We have our offensive coordinator (Charlie Weis, Jr.) who calls the players here and been here all year. Joe Cox is not here, and George McDonald is not here at receivers and tight ends.
“And that’s been something that’s been coming the whole time, right? And there’s been constant communication. They have another job that is paying them, and they have a responsibility. And at this time, with the way the calendar is now — and I wasn’t going to get into this — they’re trying to, they have 35 guys that are in the portal, and they have to build a team.
“So, obviously, do they want to be here? You’re damned right they do. But again, the situation that it is, they’ve got a job to do. They’ve got to build a team where they’re at. And where their window is right now, we’ve made it when it’s in the semifinals of the national championship. But we can take a two-week break in the season with a bye week and play a (FCS) team with no portal open and not have to worry about retention of your players.
“But you get off of a plane at 3 am, and you’ve got six days to play one of the best teams in the country and you try to retain your own roster from going in the portal, and you’ve got to do visits because you’ve got from the second to the fifth — because you’ve got to be out here by the fifth — to get an official visit in of portal guys on top of guys taking other jobs at other places that have to build the portal.
“So, to answer your question, yes, we’ve got plenty of people.”
His frustration was obvious and impossible to not understand. He has coaches going back and forth while he’s trying to win a national championship. Who knows where their heads are at with one foot out the door? He has to try to build a team for next year with the transfer portal in full swing. And he has to convince some of his own players to stay for next year. All while game planning for one of the most physical teams in the nation who just rolled over the defending national champion a week ago.
College football is a complete disaster, and Ole Miss is Exhibit A of how backwards and broken the sport has become.
We’ll see soon enough if the Rebels can take their underdog story one step further – and turn the entire sport on its head in the process.
Ole Miss Rebels News
The Miami vs. Ole Miss Fiesta Bowl will come down to a key matchup few are talking about in the College Football Playoff
The Fiesta Bowl will come down to the impacts of these key players for Ole Miss and Miami
