Jon Sumrall is buying stock in Pete Golding to be successful at Ole Miss, the Florida head coach insisted during his SEC Media Days debut on Wednesday.
Sumrall and Golding have gotten to know one another quite well throughout their time in the coaching industry. The two defensive-minded coaches have made similar stops on a roundabout path to eventually leading SEC programs. Both were assistants in Group of Six programs before advancing to the Power Four ranks and have embraced their journeys as building blocks that have led them to where they currently reside.
“Pete and I kind of have similar coaching track records to some degree. We zigged and zagged across each other a lot. He was at Southeastern Louisiana. I was at Tulane. I went to Troy. He went to Southern Miss and UTSA. He went to Alabama. I went to Ole Miss and Kentucky,” Sumrall told a busy room of reporters in Tampa. “We’ve known each other well for a while. I have a lot of respect for Pete. Really, really good football coach.”
One difference in their paths is that Sumrall had two head coaching gigs before an SEC job opened. He led Troy for two seasons and spent the same number of years at Tulane before accepting the Florida job. Golding went from defensive coordinator to SEC head coach with no head coaching experience, just like Georgia’s Kirby Smart. Notably, Smart preceded Golding as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator at Alabama.
Nonetheless, Sumrall had the unique opportunity to face off against Golding the defensive coordinator and Golding the head coach in the same season.
During the most recent campaign, Sumrall’s Tulane squad competed against Ole Miss twice – once in the regular season and once in the College Football Playoff. Both games were played in Oxford. The first matchup yielded a 45-10 win in the Rebels’ favor with Lane Kiffin leading the charge. Kiffin’s unprecedented departure to LSU after the Egg Bowl afforded Golding the opportunity to coach Ole Miss in the program’s first-ever playoff game. The result of that game? A 41-10 Rebel victory.
Though Sumrall had already agreed to be Florida’s head coach prior to the playoff, Gators athletics director Scott Stricklin did not prohibit the program’s new leader from tending to unfinished business at Tulane. Sumrall’s playoff run with the Green Wave was short-lived, but he did have a takeaway from what he saw on the other side of the field in the postseason outing — that the Golding-led Rebels were just as successful against Tulane as the Kiffin-led Rebels were.
“I think he’s going to do a phenomenal job. Really do. Happy for his opportunity there,” Sumrall said. “Watching him, those teams to me, look, you know, we played them the first time at Tulane, and they beat the [expletive] out of us. We played them the second time, different head coach, still beat the [expletive] out of us. So didn’t matter who the head coach was. They were still pretty good. So I think sometimes people forget it’s a player-driven game. Pete will do a great job with his team, and I have a lot of respect for Pete.”
Jon Sumrall was asked what he saw in Pete Golding as a head coach, and he responded with AN AWESOME ANSWER pic.twitter.com/URltTEGww3
— SportsTalk Mississippi (@SportsTalkMiss) July 22, 2026
Golding’s authenticity gives Sumrall further confidence that Golding will have success at Ole Miss.
“Pete is going to be himself. He’s not going to change,” Sumrall said. “I have an appreciation for that. You have to be authentic.”
Golding lived up to Sumrall’s assertion that the Ole Miss head coach is going to be himself. Golding made his SEC Media Days rounds not long after the Florida frontman’s floor speech, and he promptly stole the show. During his time with reporters, Golding went off-script and let his true personality shine, and he drew widespread praise because of it.
The Ole Miss coach gave an unfiltered take on widespread tampering in college football. He was open about his relationship with Lane Kiffin, saying that he had no ill will toward the LSU head man, while also throwing a couple of not-so-subtle jabs in the process. He cursed on multiple occasions, but not in an unbecoming manner. He advocated for his players, but was honest about where he saw a need for improvement.
But most importantly, he did not display a buttoned-up version of Pete Golding. He was his authentic self while under the spotlight, choosing to be transparent instead of engaging in coach speak. For that, Golding was arguably the most discussed figure in the college football scene on Wednesday.
Golding’s efforts in leading the Rebels through the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff run instilled a confidence in Ole Miss fans that he is the right man for the job. His showing at SEC Media Days restored that confidence. Adding to the hype is Sumrall asserting his belief that Golding is going to win at Ole Miss.
Fate has determined that Golding and Sumrall will see each other again soon, as Ole Miss and Florida are scheduled to play in the Swamp on Sept. 26. In the meantime, both coaches have officially been coronated as rising, yet unproven, stars in the SEC head coaching sphere. Both made it clear on Wednesday that they are working tirelessly to produce a winning product. Golding is looking to build upon the momentum of his program’s most historic season, while Sumrall desires to lead a once great team to a former glory. Time will tell how well they succeed in their efforts.
