Paul Finebaum issues strong message on Lane Kiffin after LSU decision

Lane Kiffin’s six-year rebuild at Ole Miss ended on Sunday when the coach announced he had accepted the LSU head coaching job.

Kiffin’s X post said the decision followed "a lot of prayer and time with family," and that he had sought (unsuccessfully) permission from athletic director Keith Carter to finish the Rebels’ season in the College Football Playoff.

For many college football fans, the move was predictable, but that didn't stop ESPN's Paul Finebaum from calling Kiffin out on Monday's episode of "First Take," saying his pattern of abrupt departures is "typical" and calling the move "utterly disgraceful."

"It's just so typical of Lane Kiffin to do something so utterly destructive. And that's what he did," Finebaum said. "If he wanted to coach these kids, as he put it, he could have. And the simple answer is he would have remained the Ole Miss football coach... And what does he do? What Lane Kiffin always does. He lights a match to the castle that he built, and he runs out of town in the middle of the night.

"It's utterly disgraceful, and there's no getting around it. And Lane Kiffin trying to blame others for it, trying to blame the adults in the room, is just so comical. And I'm not terribly enthusiastic when I say all this, because I've said it so many times before.

"Last year, he would have left for the University of Florida. Two years ago, he would have gone to Alabama had they bothered to call him, which they didn't. And this year, he did the most predictable thing. He walks out on his team," Finebaum added.

.@finebaum did not hold back on Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU 👀

"It's just so typical of Lane Kiffin to do something so utterly destructive." pic.twitter.com/SjGn09Y53F
— First Take (@FirstTake) December 1, 2025

Kiffin leaves a program at its highest peak: 55-19 during his Ole Miss tenure, an 11-1 regular season in 2025, and the university’s first appearance in the expanded College Football Playoff.

Off the field, Ole Miss announced defensive coordinator Pete Golding will step in for the postseason, and several outlets reported LSU’s offer is a seven-year deal in the neighborhood of $12 million per season.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin. — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin talks with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) during a college football game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. Ole Miss defeated Mississippi State 38-19 in the Egg Bowl. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

However, the move immediately generated several other disputes.

First, whether Kiffin should have been allowed to coach the Rebels through the playoff. Kiffin says he asked to do so and was denied; Ole Miss moved him aside.

Second, reports late Saturday and Sunday quoted sources saying Kiffin threatened to recruit or “poach” staff and players if his request was denied, and that several offensive assistants were prepared to follow him to Baton Rouge.

Kiffin and his camp later disputed parts of those accounts, but the reports amplified the fallout and fueled public outrage in Mississippi and beyond.

Finebaum also pointed to Kiffin’s previous exits, leaving Tennessee after one year, the chaotic USC firing, and the Alabama/FAU timing, all of which have made his departure from Ole Miss even messier.

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