Patrick Toney was not the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss very long.
Less than two months after joining Pete Golding’s inaugural staff, Toney has found a new home in a familiar role. The Atlanta Falcons hired Toney on Friday to be the team’s defensive pass game coordinator under newly minted head coach Kevin Stefanski, per multiple reports.
Ole Miss hired Toney on Jan. 7, one day before the team’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Miami — a game at which the defensive-minded coach was present. He had previously spent the past three seasons as the defensive backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals. Before that, he was Florida’s safeties coach and Louisiana’s defensive coordinator. No stranger to Golding, the two coaches worked together at Southeastern Louisiana and Texas San Antonio in the past.
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While Toney’s departure is certainly not what Ole Miss was hoping for in the offseason, it’s far from a blow to the program, as Golding will continue to call defensive plays, even in his new role as a first-year frontman. In the meantime, Golding will search for a new defensive coordinator to fill the vacancy.
Ole Miss will enter the 2026-27 campaign with momentum, despite Lane Kiffin’s unprecedented departure to LSU, with star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and standout running back Kewan Lacy agreeing to run it back one more year alongside a revamped cast of talent on both sides of the ball. The team’s opening game is scheduled to take place against Louisville in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Sept. 5 or 6.