As Ole Miss continues its historic postseason run, newly minted head coach Pete Golding continues to assemble his staff for the future.
The latest additions to Golding’s entourage are Jai Choudhary and Jake Sugarman. Choudhary will serve as director of player personnel after most recently holding that title at the associate level at LSU. Sugarman is coming in from UCLA to be the Rebels’ director of scouting. Both have experience working under Ole Miss football general manager Austin Thomas, who returned to Oxford after having spent the last two seasons in the same position at LSU.
Thomas’ return to Oxford was a result of Billy Glasscock following former Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin to LSU. Personnel-swapping between Ole Miss and LSU has not stopped there. Kiffin has taken quite a few staffers from Oxford, mostly on the offensive side of the ball, while Golding has plucked from Baton Rouge.
Notable Rebel assistants joining Kiffin at LSU are Charlie Weis Jr. (offensive coordinator), Kevin Smith (running backs), George McDonald (wide receivers), Joe Cox (tight ends), and Chris Kiffin (linebackers).
Meanwhile, Golding has also capitalized on the unprecedented situation to reel in Frank Wilson, a recruiting giant in the state of Louisiana, to be his running backs coach. Wilson has acted as the interim head coach at LSU following Brian Kelly’s firing in late October. No stranger to Golding, the Ole Miss frontman served as Wilson’s defensive coordinator at UTSA during the 2016 and 2017 seasons before being hired away to Alabama by Nick Saban.
Other notable staff additions for Golding so far include John David Baker (offensive coordinator), L’Damian Washington (wide receivers), Micheal Spurlock (offensive assistant), and Kelvin Bolden (recruiting strategy), along with a slew of assistants who did not follow Kiffin. Those are Randall Joyner (defensive line), Bryan Brown (secondary), Wes Neighbors (safeties), Jay Shoop (linebackers), Joe Judge (quarterbacks), John Garrison (offensive line), and Jake Schoonover (special teams).
As for the historic playoff push, No. 6 Ole Miss will face a familiar foe in No. 3 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Rebels and Bulldogs clashed earlier in the season with Georgia securing a 43-35 home victory. Though unprecedented, the assistants who are coaching under Kiffin’s tutelage at LSU next season will still be involved in game planning and be on the sidelines for the Sugar Bowl. As was the case in the 41-10 win over Tulane in round one, Kiffin will not be with the team.
