Ole Miss Rebels HC Lane Kiffin might be in search of his lucky charm. But looks like the ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum has some other advice for the HC. To him, Kiffin does not have to go looking for something else but rather something he has within himself, his soul. Yes, the Ole Miss HC has stooped low in Fienbaum’s eyes. But will Kiffin actually care about what the analyst said? After all, the same man called him the “Miley Cyrus of college football.” Surprisingly, Kiffin is ‘grateful’ to Finebaum for that comment.  

When Kiffin’s boys stepped foot in The Swamp, hardly did they realize that it would end with them taking back home the heavy bag of a 24-17 loss. With this, Ole Miss’ playoff chances are also gone. Now that the HC has landed in a sticky spot, how could Finebaum not drop in with his expert commentary? On The Matt Barrie Show, the ESPN analyst sat down to deconstruct Kiffin’s talent points as an HC. He started with, “Lane Kiffin is a really smart guy. He knows uh this was his shot.” So in a way, he is skeptical about the Rebels’ chances of a comeback. 

“I don’t about that. To me uh it’s not that easy for Ole Miss to be the best team in the country which I thought they were yesterday before that game,” commented Finebaum. To him, Kiffin will have to ride the college football boat. However, there will be a lot of questions plaguing the HC’s heart right at the moment, as they are now at 42-18 but can end the year with at least 10 wins. But what are the questions?

Finebaum stated, “I almost went to Auburn; he would say to himself, I thought about Florida. Do I continue here? Do I look to the NFL?” And here’s a piece of advice that the analyst has for Kiffin: “I don’t know but I guarantee Lane Kiffin, once he wraps up the Egg Bowl, will have to do some soul searching.” Given the current situation, the HC may or may not take his advice.

Lane Kiffin’s perfect response for Paul Finebaum years later

Remember the time when Finebaum got extra bitter with Kiffin? While he was still coaching the USC Trojans, the ESPN analyst handed him one of the worst insults. During College GameDay, Finebaum dropped in a brutal comment, “How did someone like Lane Kiffin ever get these jobs? How did he land the Raiders job? At Tennessee? And particularly the one at SC?… In some respects, Lane Kiffin is the Miley Cyrus of college football. He has very little talent, but we simply can’t take our eyes off him.” Even though Kiffin refused to agree, these words must have been enough to demoralize him, right?

But gone are those days. Kiffin is no longer willing to carry the negative feelings. Now, he rather holds a positive take. Maybe he got too carried forward with their big win against Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs, 28-10, which put his confidence back on track. Somehow the old wound continued to nudge him. But now that Kiffin strengthened the ground under his feet, turning his team into an offensive machine, it was the perfect time for a clapback.

On the Paul Finebaum Show this November, the Ole Miss HC said, “Now I’m saying, ‘Hey, I wouldn’t have been here to have the Georgia win if you hadn’t gotten me fired at USC, and I wouldn’t have went and worked for Coach Saban.’ Again, I’m grateful to you, Paul. Thanks for that day. Thanks for the Miley Cyrus comment.” Soul-searching per Finebaum’s prescription? Maybe not. Lane Kiffin, however, found his peace by crafting the perfect retort for his biggest doubter.