Paul Finebaum has been rubbing some people the wrong way since he became a prominent radio voice in SEC country, so it's no surprise his Lane Kiffin hot take rankled the crew on College Gameday over a decade ago.
Back in 2013, Finebaum tore into Kiffin after the then-USC coach was on the wrong side of a 62-41 game against Arizona State. It would be Kiffin's swan song with the Trojans as he would famously be fired on the airport tarmac when the plane arrived in Los Angeles.
Finebaum went in with both feet on Kiffin: "How did someone like Lane Kiffin ever get these jobs? How did he land the (Oakland) Raiders job? At Tennessee? And particularly the one at SC? People think it’s because of his father, Monte, the great defensive wizard. In some respects, Lane Kiffin is the Miley Cyrus of college football. He has very little talent, but we simply can’t take our eyes off him.”
First of all this take hasn't aged well for a number of reasons. Kiffin, while he'll never be confused for Nick Saban or probably even Kirby Smart, is a solid coach that has a favorable won-loss record at every stop he's made in college football. He has over 100 wins and a is currently 44-18 at Ole Miss over five seasons.
Following 4 straight seasons at .500 or worse the Ole Miss Rebels hired @Lane_Kiffin to be their new head football coach in 2020. Since taking over Kiffin has led the Rebels to a bowl in every season and has a 44-18 record including 3 seasons of 10+ wins. pic.twitter.com/aAwUXIemXt
— College Football Live (@CollegeFBonX) April 15, 2025
Second, Miley Cyrus has proven to have some levels to her talent. And "Flowers" is one of the great pop songs of the first half of this decade. If nothing else she runs circles around that hack father of hers.
Third, it angered his co-workers, who geniunely liked Kiffin. It wasn't just a criticism of Kiffin as a coach, it was a shot a the man. Finebaum basically called him a nepo-baby. Was Kiffin overmatched in his early days as a head coach? Absolutely. Did he continue to work at it, learn for his mistakes and get better? Yes. When we talk about Lane Kiffin these days, we don't immediately mention his father.
But more than anything, Finebaum read the insult off a notecard!?!? It wasn't some off-the-cuff statement. He was using notes in a segment on a show that is supposed to be unscripted. What makes Finebaum good for TV and good for ratings is that he'll say things others are afraid to say, but it can't be rehearsed.
As the story by Tzvi Machlin mentions, the GameDay crew was sour at Finebaum for years. It's something he had to deal with, learn from his mistake and grow from. Sound familiar?
Much like Kiffin's bad night at Sun Devil Stadium 12 years ago, Finebaum should not be judged solely on his darkest day. He still has some incredibly wild hot takes. His words still anger fan bases on the daily. But he has gotten better about the personal attacks. And as Finebaum has grown, hopefully his relationship with the College Gameday crew has improved as well.