SI

Paul Finebaum Claims Lane Kiffin Looks 'Terrible' Amid Ole Miss' Playoff Run

Unique situation has former Rebels coach under microscope.

Kyle Koster

Paul Finebaum weighs in on the situation at Ole Miss.
Paul Finebaum weighs in on the situation at Ole Miss. / Get Up on X
In this story:

Ole Miss' improbable march is getting closer and closer to a national championship as the Rebels have been able to navigate a circus brought on by Lane Kiffin's departure to LSU. Trinidad Chambliss pulled numerous rabbits out of his hat to lift Ole Miss over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, earning a date with Miami on Thursday night.

Pete Golding has done a tremendous job taking over for Kiffin under unusual circumstances and many coaches who will eventually be making the move to Baton Rouge have stuck around to help. That will continue in the semis as LSU is allowing offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. and running backs coach Kevin Smith to coach against Miami.

On paper that may seem like an example of Kiffin trying his best to make this whole thing work. But Paul Finebaum has a different take on the situation, one he shared on Tuesday's Get Up.

"He looks terrible," Finebaum said. "There's no way around it. He continues to try to look better, and everything he does seems to fail. We talked last week, he wanted to go to the Sugar Bowl, sit with the governor, go on ESPN ... nobody wanted him there."

"And quite frankly, nobody wants him around anymore," Finebaum said.

This is obviously an awkward situation. Kiffin wants Ole Miss to win and is being financially rewarded with each victory. It would be perfectly understandable if those associated with Ole Miss just wanted to move on. But keeping coaches around to coach kind of mutes that argument. One could suggest Kiffin is a in a no-win situation and just has to take shots as this magical run continues—even if he may remain the person most responsible for putting it on the track in the first place. His consolation prize is a dream job with a big contract so it may be hard to find sympathy.

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

feed

Published
Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

Home/College Football