Paul Finebaum Raises Doubt Over What a Major SEC Coach Will Actually Deliver

Paul Finebaum in attendance of the Mississippi Rebels against the Miami Hurricanes. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The LSU Tigers will be one of the most popular teams in 2026. People will either tune in to see them collapse or to see them make a run at the College Football Playoff.

Lane Kiffin Leaves Ole Miss High and Dry

That's what happens when you make the splash hire of Lane Kiffin as head coach. Kiffin comes to Baton Rouge after going 55-19 in six seasons at Ole Miss. That included three straight double-digit-win seasons, including an 11-1 year last year, which resulted in the team's first College Football Playoff appearance.

However, after the regular season finale against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Kiffin elected to take the LSU job. That resulted in Ole Miss not allowing him to coach the playoff run, instead promoting defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach.

Now, Kiffin is hoping to turn around an LSU program that hasn't been to the College Football Playoff since Joe Burrow led the team to a national championship in 2019.

LSU Tigers new head coach Lane Kiffin, left, and LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry greet each other. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Paul Finebaum Questions LSU's Expectations

ESPN's Paul Finebaum discussed Kiffin taking over the LSU job. On "The Paul Finebaum Show," he questioned the expectations put on Kiffin.

"What is Lane Kiffin going to do for LSU?" Finebaum said. "Does anyone know? You didn't hear him promise us anything, did he?"

While Kiffin hasn't promised anything, he likely understands the championship expectations. He wouldn't have taken the job if he didn't fully embrace him. If he wanted to coach at a program that's just happy to be in the College Football Playoff conversation, he would have stayed at Ole Miss. His six-year tenure is arguably the best in program history, and he didn't win a conference or national title.

Championship Pressure in Baton Rouge

At LSU, that run would be seen as fine, but not up to their standards. Brian Kelly went 34-14 in his four seasons, which included two double -digit win seasons, a nine-win season and an SEC Championship Game appearance.

Still, that was considered a failure and as soon as it looked like things were trending poorly, they moved on.

So, while Finebaum is right that Kiffin hasn't said anything, he's wrong in the fact that that's not his expectation. That's what the fans expect, too, as several callers on Finebaum's show noted that LSU is coming to dominate under Kiffin.

Now, it's unfair to expect that in Year 1, despite Kiffin landing a major transfer portal class, including one of the top quarterbacks, Sam Leavitt. The expectation should be that Kiffin shows he has the program steadied and headed in the right direction this year.

After that, he better win or he won't be there long.