OXFORD – It was only a few months ago Ole Miss was playing in some of the most meaningful games in program history. But the college football clock hardly allows for time to reminisce. The 2026-27 season is well on its way.
The Rebels are coming off a season where they won a program-record 13 games and made their first appearance in the College Football Playoff field. After defeating Tulane and Georgia in the first two rounds of the CFP, Ole Miss fell to Miami in the national semifinal 31-27. The Rebels finished the season ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll, the highest postseason ranking for the program since 1962.
In the background of the historic season was the Lane Kiffin Saga, which finally saw its end right before the playoff run and resulted in Kiffin at LSU and new head coach Pete Golding leading the Rebels to a pair of postseason wins.
That’s all in the past, though, and Golding is entering his first full season as a head coach at any level with a team poised to make another postseason run. Ole Miss officially starts spring football practice today, and here are three storylines to follow as the Rebels start their quest back to the CFP.
What will the offense look like with Baker?
Former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., a semifinalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant, stayed on with Ole Miss through the playoff but is now in Baton Rouge. He will be replaced by former Rebels co-offensive coordinator John David Baker, who most recently called plays at East Carolina the past two seasons. As was the case with Weis, pace figures to play a role in the offensive plan – Ole Miss ran 73.3 plays per game last season while the Pirates ran 77 per game. The Rebels were second nationally in total offense (489.7 yards per game), and East Carolina ranked 19th (449). The styles figure to be similar given Weis and Baker worked together under Kiffin, but it’s hard to know for sure until we see it firsthand.
What we do know, however, is the Rebels have a pair of Heisman Trophy contenders in the backfield in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss – despite the NCAA’s efforts – and running back Kewan Lacy. There are questions on the offensive line at both tackle spots and in the receiver room, where the Rebels lost more than 3,500 yards in receiving production from last year. But with transfer portal additions like offensive tackle Carius Curne (LSU) and receiver Darrell Gill Jr. (Syracuse) and several homegrown pieces, the talent figures to still be there offensively.
Who steps up to rush the passer?
Losing edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen to LSU – after announcing he was returning to Ole Miss just weeks before – was a gut punch for the Rebels. Not just because of who Umanmielen left for, either. Umanmielen finished with a team-high nine sacks and 13 tackles-for loss. Seven of those sacks came over the Rebels’ final eight games.
Kam Franklin and Will Echoles were stellar down the stretch at end and tackle, respectively, finishing with a combined 10 sacks and 20.5 tackles-for-loss. Linebacker Suntarine Perkins is also back; he had 10.5 sacks in 2024 but changed roles in 2025 and finished with 4.5. Does a returner step up to the plate as a sack artist, or is it a portal newcomer such as Blake Purchase (Oregon) or Jordan Renaud (Alabama) that becomes a top pass-rush threat?
How much does the day-to-day change under Golding?
It can be something as simple as hearing or not hearing the Dropkick Murphys “I’m Shipping up to Boston” blaring every day at the same point in practice. Breaking routine is strange. How much routine does Golding change now that he’s in charge with a full offseason to implement things? We already know the basketball hoop was taken out of the team meeting room during the CFP run; what else? Kiffin at times limited live-action drills during the season to keep the team fresh. Does Golding abide by that same philosophy?
We likely won’t learn everything this spring, but it’s worth keeping an eye on how Golding puts his spin on the program as things unfold.
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