Through Criticism, Pete Golding Remains Focused on Maintaining Success for Alabama Defense

Golding has dealt with criticism throughout his tenure as the Crimson Tide's defensive coordinator and discussed his primary focus as his team prepares for the Cotton Bowl.

DALLAS — Criticism is something that is expected for coaches of all levels of college football. Whether it is a head coach or an assistant, most are prone to being critiqued by not just fans, but the media as well.

Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding has had much experience with criticism over his four years in Tuscaloosa. Be it warranted or unjustified, the Crimson Tide's defense under his leadership has come under scrutiny on multiple occasions.

On Monday afternoon during his second meeting with the media this season, Golding took the opportunity to address just exactly how he handles that criticism.

"Well, their name ain't on my paycheck, so I really don't listen to them," Golding chuckled. "Obviously, my old man was a high school coach growing up, so I think it was something I learned at an early age from my mom. She was like 'Look, some are going to love your dad, some people are going to hate your dad. So it's still your dad. You're always going to love your dad.' But you know, I don't listen to the outside noise, to be honest with you.

"You know, I think if you're a football coach and you do that, I think you get out of this profession pretty quick. You'll start selling insurance and playing golf. There's no bigger critic on me than me. Obviously, coach [Nick] Saban does a great job and stays on top of us to make sure we're doing things correctly."

For the 2021 season, Alabama is ranked No. 8 in the country in total defense, allowing an average of 306.1 yards per game. The Crimson Tide has given up an average of 4.73 yards per play, a number that might be shocking to fans considering the team's 12-1 record.

While the defense struggled early on in the season, the final month showed some dramatic improvement. In the Iron Bowl, Alabama held Auburn to just 159 total yards through four overtimes. Despite the criticism that Golding has faced this season, his defense produced results in the second half of the season.

External criticism of coaches is something that could understandably affect the mentality of a team's players. However, Crimson Tide linebacker Christian Harris said on Thursday that he and his teammates avoid those outside voices.

“I really don’t pay attention to the external factors — you know, the outside noise — whether they’re criticizing him or not or us or not,” Harris said. “I know at the end of the day, Pete’s a great coach and I trust him. I mean, I came in here never playing this position before and throughout these three years he’s really done well with developing me and still doing so even to this day. So he’s a great coach and I really appreciate what he does for us.”

No. 1 Alabama is now preparing for its matchup against No. 4 Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl, its semifinal game of the College Football Playoff. Despite all of the criticism, Golding has helped lead to the team's third CFP semifinal since his arrival in Tuscaloosa.

Golding chooses to ignore the criticism thrown his way and simply focuses on his task at hand — leading his team to another national title.

"I don't get caught up into it," Golding said. "I'm not a big media guy and all that type of stuff. I try to work my butt off and put our kids in the best position that we can for success and try to coach them throughout the week."