Ole Miss' Pete Golding says 'bull's-eye' on program after success - ESPN

MIRAMAR, Fla. — Pete Golding has been head coach at Ole Miss for just three games, but that hasn't kept him from having to deal with criticism and controversy coming from all sides.

At the SEC's spring meetings Wednesday, Golding addressed the latest barrage — tampering allegations by Clemson, digs at Ole Miss's educational standards by Texas and insinuations of a racist culture around Oxford by former coach Lane Kiffin — by suggesting the whirlwind of commentary from outside the program speaks to the success Ole Miss is having on and off the field.

«I couldn't care less what everybody else thinks of us,» Golding said. «I think our players understand, there's a bull's-eye and a circle on them now based on their success and what they've done on the field. They've got to be able to block out the noise.»

Golding said he maintains a strong relationship with Kiffin, who left Ole Miss in controversial fashion before its playoff run last year.

"[He] hits me up every day," Golding said, downplaying Kiffin's comments about the racial dynamics at play in recruiting to Oxford, Mississippi, as compared with LSU.

«Obviously there's a Lane side for us that we're buddies and are friends, and then there's professional side that I have to get on his ass about a little bit sometimes,» Golding said. «Every time he gets in front of a camera, they're bringing up Ole Miss.

»The breakup wasn't perfect.… Some of those last comments that he made, I think anybody that's been to Oxford knows that's not where we're at right now. I've lived all over the southeast, and we all got our own issues, but I think the biggest thing is make sure people come to Oxford and see for themselves."

Golding also downplayed comments from Kiffin this week suggesting