Pete Golding met with the Ole Miss media Friday for the first time since he was hired as the defensive coordinator by Lane Kiffin. So, of course, the talk was about Alabama and Nick Saban.

Golding, who spent 2018 to 2022 in Tuscaloosa on Saban’s staff, said the two coaches are as much alike as they are different.

“A lot to be honest with you, especially in the meeting format,” Golding said when he was asked the differences between the two men. “Obviously, they are both super intelligent. They both demand discipline in the program in different ways, but they still demand it.

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“A lot of the mannerisms are similar in the room. I think where coach Kiffin does a really good job of it is very easy, once you’ve been in a place for a long period of time, to go somewhere else and try to run it exactly the same. And it’s not. It’s not. You don’t have the same resources. It’s not the same people. It’s not the same place.”

Alabama ranked 13th in total defense a year ago, conceding 318.2 yards per game. It was the ninth-best defense nationally in terms of scoring — and second in the SEC behind Georgia — conceding 18.15 points a game. Ole Miss ranked 75th in total defense and 57th in scoring (25.54 points), respectively.

“A lot of the things that helped Alabama get to where they are, we do,” Golding said Friday. “There’s some other things that every program – not just Alabama – that are probably in spite of. You are going to win in spite of doing those things.

“I think coach Kiffin does a really good job of putting his own personality on the program, and still not getting away from the culture and the foundation, the discipline, the toughness and all those things that you need for a winning program, but still having his own personality to do it. I think he and I both learned a lot from (Alabama).”

Golding explained his move to Oxford in January had nothing to do with Alabama or the negative backlash he often got from fans. However, the move came just weeks after Golding said he “absolutely” planned to be back at Alabama when asked about his status before the Sugar Bowl.

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“I think you get so locked into a career and you get focused on the next step,” Golding said Friday. “… When you’re married and you got three kids, sometimes you lose the value of what you’re really about. Having won national championships and a lot of SEC championships and all of that, I still wanted to go somewhere my family could be more involved.

“When you can go somewhere that’s already had success, that I think is very close to being elite year-in and year-out, and feel like you can have an impact and you can help that, especially one your side of the ball, while still being somewhere that your wife wants to be, and still do what you love to do, I think that’s special.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.