SECMD26 Notes: Kiffin, Golding not feuding, unlike Ole Miss, LSU fans; Colman-Williams ties the knot over the summer

Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said all was good with LSU and former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin after the controversial exit by Kiffin late last season. (Courtesy Southeastern Conference)

Compiled by GRAHAM DUNN

Coleman-Williams “jumps the broom” over the summer

TAMPA - Alabama wideout Ryan Coleman-Williams became a married man over the summer.

“I got married in a courthouse,” he explained. “I can focus on ball with my girl in my corner.”

The Alabama junior is looking to return to form of his freshman season when he was an All=SEC freshman pick.

“Honestly, just going into this year, my main focus is just trying to be a consistent guy day in and day out. And with the work that I put in, obviously the results will show for themselves. So really just being the best version of myself day in and day out for my squad and for myself,” he said.

Sumrall questioned on different approach to playoffs and new job at Florida

Jon Sumrall figured the question would come up regarding his decision to stay with Tulane while the Green Wave prepared for the first-round matchup with Ole Miss… as compared to Lane Kiffin and the move to LSU before the playoffs.

In his eyes, the circumstances were quite different.

“I would say no two decisions are alike,” he explained. “Lane and I are friends and we talked several times through the process of October-November about what it was looking like for both of our schedules of how things were going to unfold.

“He was like, you and I are going through the same thing in November. I was like, No, Lane, we're not. If you leave you're leaving an SEC school to go to another SEC school. It's a little different. I'm leaving Tulane.

"But it was challenging to do it. I wouldn't have done it any other way. I may have on the front end of taken this job maybe not been at my best every second for Florida because I wanted to make sure I left Tulane the right way.”

Tulane lost to Ole Miss and was eliminated while Ole Miss reached the CFP semifinals before bowing to Miami, Fla.

Trophy case is in need of filling at A&M

Asked if his team needed a push to avoid complacency in 2026, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko had a quick answer.

“I show them our trophy case and it's empty.” he said.

“I think they're all very aware of that. I think -- listen, we live in a lot of worlds, so we're obviously happy with the things we accomplished, happy with the direction of our program, but it's also not lost on us that we haven't won the hardware that we're searching for. That gets us into a mindset of growth and getting back to work to go finish this thing a little bit better than we did last year and put ourself in a better position maybe to compete for some trophies.”

In ’25, A&M won the first 11 games of the season before dropping the last two, one to rival Texas and the other in the first round of the CFP to Miami, Fla.

Golding’s relationship with Kiffin is ‘good’

Ole Miss first-year coach Pete Golding was asked the question several times during the third day of SEC Media Days.

How is the relationship with Lane Kiffin?

“I get this everywhere we go,” Golding said. “We're on our caravan tour right now with Ole Miss,so we go every Tuesday and Thursday and take a couple players and go around the country. We go Q and A with everybody, so everybody is, tell me how you really feel

about him. Lane and I are good. I did not know Coach Kiffin prior to taking the Ole Miss job. I wasn't at Alabama when Coach Kiffin was. I didn't come to Ole Miss because of Coach Kiffin. I came to Ole Miss to be at Ole Miss to raise three kids. So our relationship really grew in those three and a half years and he did a lot for me and I was very, very appreciative how he treated me and my family. I learned a lot from him.

Golding, who led Ole Miss to the CFP semifinals, says he has no ill will towards Coach Kiffin, who jumped to LSU right after the regular season ended.

“He's very competitive just like I'm very competitive. So obviously a lot of this went a different direction. Now he has a new job with new responsibilities and he's going to be super competitive to be the best he can at that job, which is his job.”

The two teams meet in what is a much-anticipated game on Sept. 19 in Oxford.