Paul Finebaum Makes Bold Prediction for LSU Football, Ole Miss Amid Lane Kiffin Buzz

LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin remains in headlines this week amid the Ole Miss Rebels' College Football Playoff run after clinching a berth to the semifinals on Thursday night.

In an unprecedented move, Kiffin made the decision to depart the Ole Miss program on Nov. 30 for the LSU job despite the Rebels clinching a College Football Playoff berth.

Since then, chaos has ensued with the programs swapping personnel members, support staff, and integral coaches along the way with multiple staffers that have made the move from Ole Miss to LSU still working during the College Football Playoff.

LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., tight ends coach Joe Cox, and quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens have been working overtime after assisting with both schools.

Now, with the Transfer Portal open along with the Ole Miss Rebels still alive in the College Football Playoff, ESPN's Paul Finebaum and college football analyst Josh Pate predict controversy to strike soon.

The chaos that continues to engulf college football has a new wrinkle -- the LSU assistants Lane Kiffin has loaned to Ole Miss may not be available in six days, when Ole Miss faces Miami in the CFP semifinal. https://t.co/OteyvFh7wO
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 2, 2026

“It’s going to be a problem. Leave it to Lane Kiffin to be sitting there right now with most of his coaching staff having another week (at Ole Miss). He can tweet all he wants, but he expected and I’m sure deep down he was figuring Ole Miss would be out of it early and I could get my staff,” Finebaum said on Friday morning on ESPN’s Get Up.

“This is why he left early, to go to LSU and start recruiting when this portal window opened today. And now he is stuck, and can’t really do much about it. It is going to be a chaotic week.”

Pate agreed during the segment.

“I know that on the surface, all the right things are going to be said, all the right things are going to be tweeted. Paul is dead on the money here. It’s going to be very contentious behind the scenes,” Pate said.

“You’ve got a handful of assistant coaches who were expected to show up for work today, not in Oxford but in Baton Rouge, who are still coaching the Ole Miss Rebels. We don’t have precedent for it. We’ve never really been here. Some people are really going to have to do some soul searching on all sides.”

Ole Miss will take on the Miami Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 8 while Kiffin and the Bayou Bengals navigate a pivotal Transfer Portal stretch in Baton Rouge as chaos is set to ensue.

More LSU News:

LSU Football Wide Receiver, Oklahoma Transfer Labeled 'Biggest Bust' in Portal

Lane Kiffin Pulls Off Historic Recruiting Feat Amid First Month With LSU Football

Lane Kiffin Reveals How Nick Saban, Pete Carroll Influenced Decision to LSU Football

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