Only one first-time SEC head coach bears the burden of having the highest expectations and the most eyeballs on him during the 2026 College Football season. It's not the Auburn Tigers' Alex Golesh, the Florida Gators' Jon Sumrall, the Arkansas Razorbacks' Ryan Silverfield, and the Kentucky Wildcats' Will Stein.
While Saturday Down South's David Wasson listed all of them, but relayed that Ole Miss Rebels head coach Pete Golding has the most difficult job of any first-time SEC head coaches this coming fall.
"Golding arguably has the most difficult job of all the first-year SEC coaches – despite having already worked in the job during the Rebels’ magical run to the CFP semifinals. The former Ole Miss defensive coordinator was thrust into the head-coaching chair when Kiffin bolted to LSU and shined in the Playoff. But 2026 will be a different story now that the dust has settled in Oxford and he will have a full offseason to reload what was a stellar Rebels offense. While not fully resolved, it appears the 42-year-old Golding will have quarterback Trinidad Chambliss back to pair with standout running back Kewan Lacy again. And the Rebels brought in both an outstanding transfer portal class (9 4-stars among 29 signees) and a solid traditional recruiting class (8 4-stars out of 22 signees). But whether Golding can replicate the Kiffin magic will be the central question he has to keep answering week in and week out," Wasson wrote.
Of course, Wasson is spot-on. Not only will the Rebels play the most important game in the University of Mississippi's football program against Lane Kiffin's LSU Tigers on September 19 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, but they'll be holding their fanbases' hopes that their team will remain as relevant and not turn out to be a one-year wonder.
Ole Miss must prove that Lane Kiffin wasn't the only reason Rebels won
Golding solidified himself as Ole Miss's leader during this past run with a massive win against the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff on New Year's Day. Objectively, emotional fumes were powering that playoff run.
Can Golding oversee a season-long winning effort? That's the first hurdle he has to climb in the head coaching seat in Oxford, Mississippi. Eventually, he'll have to prove he can win without the guys Kiffin brought in. For now, he'll have Trinidad Chambliss back, along with future Sunday running back Kewan Lacy, but soon enough, his offensive staff will need to find more help for Deuce Knight, if he even stays.
In 2026, Golding needs to keep Rebel fans hopeful about the future of Ole Miss football. The window to maintain that hope and championship contender standard is narrow. Donors may not keep up this level of investment forever. Results are needed, fast.
That is the toughest job, on paper, in the SEC this year. Let's not underestimate Kiffin needing to deliver on the hype in Baton Rouge or Golesh finally getting things right on the Plains amid the basketball program's decline post-Bruce Pearl, too, though. Steve Sarkisian also needs to deliver on Arch Manning with the Texas Longhorns, and Kalen DeBoer may be on his last leg with the Alabama Crimson Tide.