Paul Finebaum Thinks Ole Miss Football's Lane Kiffin Will Be 'Intrigued' By LSU Job

Kiffin's name continues circulating across the coaching carousel, Finebaum believes LSU will come in swinging.

Paul Finebaum, radio and ESPN television personality, gets ready to speak on television near activities outside the Superdome, before of the College Football Playoff National Championship game in New Orleans Monday, January 13, 2020. | Ken Ruinard / staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers officially parted ways on Sunday night amid the program's 5-3 start to the 2025 season in Baton Rouge.

Following a humiliating 49-25 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in Week 9, the LSU administration pulled the plug on the "Kelly Era" with the program now in search of a new decision-maker in the Bayou State.

The coaching carousel is heating up this fall with multiple premier coaching jobs available - including the LSU Tigers, Florida Gators, Arkansas Razorbacks, and Penn State Nittany Lions gigs.

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has remained a hot commodity across the coaching carousel with the shot-caller in Oxford being linked to both the Florida and LSU openings.

Once Billy Napier was let go in Gainesville, Kiffin was immediately tied to the job as a potential candidate, but with the LSU job now open, it has social media swirling.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum believes Kiffin will be intrigued by the job opening.

“Kiffin, in my mind, always just seemed restless at Ole Miss,” Finebaum stated, via McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “As much as he has tried to convince everybody that this is his nirvana, I just don’t believe it. Yeah, he likes it there. His family likes it there. And that was all about not going to Auburn.

“This is different. This is one of those jobs that he has to — I mean, I’ve always thought he coveted Florida, but there’s something about LSU that’s even more attractive than Florida. And I just have a hard time believing that Lane Kiffin is not intrigued by it. I frankly believe he is.”

Finebaum isn't the only analyst that believes Kiffin could be intrigued by the opportunity in Baton Rouge, but others are telling him to avoid the gig - namely football icon Cam Newton.

“I think the hottest person right now is Lane Kiffin, but I would be questionable to take that job if I’m Lane Kiffin, because you will be chasing somebody else’s greatness at any of the schools that are vacant,” Newton said via First Take. “You’ll already be compared to Urban Meyer if you’re at the University of Florida.

“If you go to LSU, you have the likes of Ed Orgeron and, you know, Nick Saban and those guys and Les Miles. If you stay at Ole Miss — if I’m Lane Kiffin, I say, ‘Give me what I’m owed, and I can build something great that has never been here before.’

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

“Even with the likes of Eli Manning and the greatness of so many other players in Ole Miss history, you are able to create your own legacy. Something that hasn’t been done before. That’s why Indiana paid their coach, because they understand. There will be coaching vacancies, and the coaching carousel will move.

“But if I’m Lane Kiffin, and him being such a polarizing person, just with what he did this past weekend with shunning the player, I love that in a coach. I love the bravado that he brings. But I think he’s in the right space right there at Ole Miss, because he can create his own narrative, and now he doesn’t feel the pressure of everybody else.”

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