First year head coach Pete Golding has hefty expectations headed into his first full season as the head ball coach, but with any great head coach, comes a great staff.
With change can sometimes cause problems, and with the era of the transfer portal now taking over in college football, Pete Golding hiring of staff members had be to selective and thoughtful.
Within that process, Pete Golding has assembled a group of coaches this season, with a lot of familiarity to the program, and as Golding puts it “We have a really good staff. It was really important to me to get the best guys at their craft that really wanna be here.”
Familiarity builds trust, and within Golding’s first staff, many members of his team have personal relations to Ole Miss.
Recently Ole Miss hired Terrence Metcalf to its offensive staff, the former Rebel will work with offensive line coach John Garrison to help build a successful unit. Metcalf played for Ole Miss from 1998 to 2001, and a spent eight seven seasons in the NFL. Metcalf was recently inducted into the college football hall of fame, and although there was little relationship between Metcalf and Golding, there was a immediate spark between the two.
“I didn’t know coach Metcalf very well, I had no idea until I interviewed him the type of man he is. And I’ve probably never been more impressed based on the character of somebody, of why they’re in this business when they don’t have to be in this business. There is no place that this guy would rather be than walk in these doors every morning.
- Pete Golding on hiring Terrence Metcalf
Metcalf most recently served as the head coach at Coahoma community college in 2022, and also spent time as a assistant at Pearl River college.
In December of 2025, Ole Miss hired John David Baker to help lead its offense, and with Baker’s familiarity with the program, Golding knew the transition would be smooth for the team.
After a historic couple of seasons as offensive coordinator for the East Carolina Pirates, the former Ole Miss staff member made his way back to Oxford. Baker arrived in Oxford in 2021 as the passing game coordinator, and tight ends coach. After one season, Baker was promoted to co-offensive coordinator, helping see the success of Matt Coral and Jaxson Dart.
Bakers up tempo offense will seemingly be smooth transition wise for quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, as he hopes to have another historic season in Oxford.
On the defensive side, recently hired Marcus Woodson will help lead the defense alongside Golding, and work with the safeties. After spending time at Kansas State, Arkansas, and Florida State the former Ole Miss safety saw success with the Rebels from 1999-2002.
“Marcus was here in December, I’d always recruited against Marcus, the limited time I was around him in December, the way he impacted the players, I was so impressed. and it was dude when he was here, you knew he loved Ole Miss.”
- Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding on Marcus Woodson
Along with Woodson, defensive coach Bryan Brown also is a Ole Miss alum, playing for the Rebels in the early 2000s, and Brandon Turnage who most recently played for Pete Golding and Ole Miss in 2024.
Brown’s role with the team after the departure of Lane Kiffin was prominent for the team sticking together throughout their first playoff run. Brown will meet with the media Friday, and working alongside Woodson can be pivotal for the uprising of the new Rebels defense.
Turnage a Mississippi native transferred to Ole Miss in 2024 for his final season of collegiate football, eclipsing 24 tackles and one interception in his lone season as a Rebel.
Along with the success of coaching, comes great recruiting, and with familiarity and love for the university within the staff, it becomes quite smooth to recruit players to play here. To add to former players on the staff, former wide receiver Donte Moncrief has remained a fan favorite, and has remained prominent in the success of the program.