Pete Golding taking no time for reflection ahead of debut as head coach: 'I'm not trying to enjoy anything'

Pete Golding’s head coaching debut will be in the College Football Playoff vs. Tulane this weekend. It doesn’t get more high-stakes than that, which means Golding hasn’t had time to think about what it’ll be like putting on that headset for the first time as the headman.

Part of that is because Golding’s promotion to head coach from defensive coordinator came after Lane Kiffin took the LSU job. When asked if he’ll take any time to reflect on his journey when he steps on the field Saturday night, Golding explained that the only thing he’s prepping for is getting past Tulane this weekend.

“I think when you start getting caught up in moments and start taking pictures and do all that, your focus is on the wrong thing,” Golding said. “And so for this, this is something, hopefully whenever that last game is and we put it forth our best effort, whatever the result of that is, then you’ll have some time to sit back and kind of look back on it and be able to evaluate it: Did you do it the right way? Could we do it better?

“But right now, you know, I’m not trying to enjoy anything. I’m trying to prepare extremely hard and get a good plan in place for these players and hold them accountable to practice the right way and prepare the right way to give them the best chance. So that would be at a later time. I’ll let my kids do that.”

Golding takes over an Ole Miss team that finished with the first 11-win regular season in program history. In turn, the Rebels will participate in its first-ever College Football Playoff, regardless of format.

What’s next for the Rebels as a program after the postseason remains to be seen. Until then, Golding and his team’s focus will be on trying to win a national championship.

“I think we owe this to the team, to the fans, to the university to have blinders on right now,” Golding said. “I know what it takes to win football games. I know what it takes to be successful in defense and it’s hard work and you’ve got to do it better than anybody else. You’ve got to be willing to do things that they’re not.”

Kickoff between Ole Miss and Tulane is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The national broadcast can be viewed on ABC and ESPN.