Paul Finebaum suggests CFP outcome eased pressure on controversial head coach

Finebaum believes the heat is starting to die down on one of college football's most surprising coaching carousel moves.

Dec 7, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN announcer Paul Finebaum before the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The college football coaching carousel was as wild as ever this season. Over a dozen head coaches were fired, creating a few surprising openings at programs such as LSU, Penn State, and Michigan. That led to more than 30 coaching changes across the FBS.

Without question, the most controversial move was Lane Kiffin's defection from Ole Miss to LSU with the Rebels on the cusp of a College Football Playoff bid. Kiffin took multiple assistant coaches and staffers with him to Baton Rouge.

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In the aftermath, Ole Miss promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to head coach. The Rebels won their first two postseason games before falling to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.

Kiffin wanted to coach the program in the playoffs but wasn't allowed to, creating an awkward situation that drew plenty of national attention, especially as the Rebels continued their run.

With Ole Miss finally being ousted, the SEC's finest talking head, Paul Finebaum, believes Kiffin can finally take a breath of fresh air.

Ole Miss CFP Loss A Relief For Lane Kiffin, Per Paul Finebaum

LSU Tigers head coach Lane Kiffin looks on prior to the game against the Houston Cougars at NRG Stadium. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Finebaum doesn't necessarily think Kiffin was rooting for the Rebels to lose, but the result does take some of the pressure off his shoulders.

If Ole Miss somehow advanced and won the national championship, it would reflect even worse on Kiffin. Regardless, the situation was already unprecedented, with a sitting P4 head coach taking a new job before the CFP.

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“I think deep down, he had to be very relieved. I’m not going to be so cynical to think that he would root against Ole Miss. I don’t think he would," Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. "I think it’s a part of who he is."

"But the idea that Ole Miss isn't playing for the national championship, I think from a Lane Kiffin standpoint, probably made his next week and a half a lot easier, because that story just died," Finebaum added. "It died in the desert, and, quite frankly, it probably should have.”

It's worth noting that most of the assistants who followed Kiffin to LSU opted not to coach in Ole Miss' final playoff game.

Going into the 2026 season, Finebaum ranks Kiffin highly in the SEC, slotting him behind Georgia's Kirby Smart in the pecking order.

"I think if you're objective, he's not far from the top, and some of this may just be baked into the cake," Finebaum said. "You also have to look at Ole Miss' season, with or without Lane Kiffin, the final two games or three games, and he built that team."

"I know some of you are saying, 'Well, you hate Lane Kiffin.' I don't hate Lane Kiffin. I respect what he's done, and he did a phenomenal job at Ole Miss," Finebaum added. "I think that will travel to Baton Rouge, which should be an easier program to build a national championship contender."

Kiffin will make his LSU debut when the Tigers host Clemson on Saturday, September 5. Two weeks later, Kiffin returns to Oxford as an opponent for the first time in what will be one of the most highly-anticipated games next fall.

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