LSU Fans Won't Love What Paul Finebaum Said About Lane Kiffin

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ESPN's Paul Finebaum isn't afraid to throw shade at the top coaches in college football, that's for sure.

When Jim Harbaugh was Michigan's head coach, Finebaum took as many jabs as humanly possible at his program. Now, it appears his focus has shifted over to one of the polarizing head coach in the country.

Despite having a historic season at Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin agreed to a seven-year, $91 million contract with LSU this month. There has been plenty of criticism thrown his way ever since he packed his bags and left Oxford. The latest knock on him came out of nowhere though.

During an appearance on "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning" this week, Finebaum raved about Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer.

"This should say that when Greg Byrne went out and hired a coach nearly three years ago, he picked the best of the bunch that are available," Finebaum said. "I think what you have to look at is, would you rather have Kalen DeBoer or Brent Venables? Would you rather have Kalen DeBoer more than a number of other coaches?"

Finebaum wasn't done complimenting DeBoer, who he'd rather have leading a program over Kiffin.

"Quite frankly, would you rather have Lane Kiffin or Kalen DeBoer? I know I heard a lot of people say that recently, but what are you getting with Lane Kiffin, other than maybe more chaos?"

Kiffin and Finebaum have history.

Prior to the start of the 2025 season, Kiffin joked that Finebaum got him fired back at USC. He also accused the ESPN personality of jinxing him before pivotal games.

“I feel like whenever you push me for a job, then we like lose the next week,” Kiffin said. “It’s like you’re screwing us up. Get all our fans mad that I’m leaving.” 

Regardless of how things play out at LSU, you can guarantee Finebaum will have something to say about Kiffin.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Dec 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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