What Ole Miss Football Is Getting in Coveted Assistant Coach With Ties to Nick Saban

Pete Golding and Co. add the well-traveled assistant coach, makes move to Oxford under a new-look staff.

Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners assistant head coach Mike Stoops on the sidelines during the game against the Texas Longhorns during the Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

Former Kentucky Wildcats inside linebackers coach Mike Stoops will join Pete Golding's Ole Miss Rebels staff this offseason after making the decision to depart Lexington.

Stoops and Golding will reunite in Oxford after the two spent time on Nick Saban's staff with the Alabama Crimson Tide during Golding's stint as the defensive coordinator in Tuscaloosa.

Fast forward to Stoops' current stint with Ole Miss and it remains to be seen what Stoops' role will be on Golding's staff, but the defensive mastermind will look to take on duties on the defensive side after spending time as the Kentucky Wildcats' inside linebackers coach.

In 2024, Stoops brought in All-American transfer linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson from Georgia. where he led a tight-knit defensive group with 67 tackles, which included seven tackles for loss (-32 yards) and 3.5 sacks (-26 yards).

That also included a team-best and career-best 14 tackles, a sack and his own forced fumble recovery at Tennessee with it clear as day that Stoops can evaluate top talent across America.

Kentucky inside linebackers coach Mike Stoops yells during a NCAA football game between Tennessee and Kentucky in Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to Stoops' Kentucky bio: "Mike Stoops, like Mark, played college football as a safety at Iowa.  Mike earned United Press International First Team All-America honors in 1984. He also was a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection in 1983-84, and led the Big Ten in interceptions in 1983, totaling six in nine games.

"After graduation, he went on to play in the National Football League as a defensive back with the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Iowa in 1986 before later moving to Kansas State from 1992-98."

Stoops has spent over 25 seasons as a coordinator or head coach across college football where he will now look to continue his impressive career in Oxford on Golding's first staff at the helm of the Rebels.

Now, Ole Miss adds a college football lifer to the staff with Stoops having experience with the Oklahoma Sooners, Kentucky Wildcats, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Kansas State Wildcats, among several others.

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