Pete Golding isn't sorry, and he's living in Kiffin's old house

Ole Miss is dealing with real heat right now. Clemson's Dabo Swinney has accused Golding of tampering with linebacker Luke Ferrelli while he was still on Clemson's roster, reportedly even flashing him a picture of a $1 million offer, and Clemson has an NCAA investigation open over it. That's the backdrop Golding walked into at SEC Media Days, and instead of ducking it, he leaned all the way in.

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

Ole Miss' Pete Golding on tampering: "Let's not act like recruiting in college football the last 100 years is the most moral thing, right? The (current) model obviously has been broken. I'm all for everybody being on the same playing field & doing the same things"

That's the Golding playbook this week: never say you did it, never say you didn't, just point out the model is broken. He basically argued tampering rules are a relic from a sport that's never been fair to begin with, more or less comparing them to applying for a job you're not allowed to interview for. It's a deflection, sure, but it's also the kind of quote that plays well with a fan base that just wants their coach to win the portal, rules or no rules.

CFB Kings

@CFBKings

Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding in response to a question about the tampering allegations they’ve faced: “We’re going to recruit really good players, that’s both in the high school market and in the portal market, and we’ll to continue to do it how we’ve done it.” When asked about tampering again, he later said, “let’s not act like recruiting in College Football for the last 100 years is the most moral thing.”

Golding is still new to being the guy in the big chair. He took over at Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin bolted for LSU, and this is his first run through the SEC Media Days gauntlet as a head coach instead of a defensive coordinator standing in someone else's shadow. He's aware of the jump too, joking that the biggest change from DC to HC has been getting a little skinnier.

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

Ole Miss' Pete Golding on biggest change for him moving from defensive coordinator to head coach: "(I'm) a little skinnier."

The funniest thread of the day had nothing to do with the NCAA at all. Golding revealed he actually bought his house in Oxford from Kiffin, who reportedly steered the deal his way over another buyer. Kiffin then told his own version to Pete Thamel, saying Golding moved in the day after he left and that he used to check the Ring camera to see if Golding was actually home instead of out visiting recruits — joking he'd tell his staff, 'he's on my couch, I just saw him walk in.'

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

Lane Kiffin talked about selling his house to Pete Golding, saying that he started using the house the day after Kiffin left. Kiffin joked that he checked in on Golding on his Ring camera, and when his staff speculated Golding was visiting a recruit he'd say: "He can't be wherever it was at this recruit's house, he's on my couch. I just saw him walk in."

Kiffin's closing line was the cherry on top, telling Golding afterward he might want to change the Ring camera password. It's a goofy footnote, but it says something real about the relationship between the two coaches — Golding insists there's no ill will and that Kiffin still texts him regularly, even with certain topics clearly staying off limits. For a guy fielding tampering questions all day, having the SEC's most chaotic personality publicly vouch for the friendship is a pretty good look, whether or not it moves the needle with the NCAA.