Paul Finebaum Suggests Cfp Outcome Eased Pressure On Controversial Head Coach

The assemblage shot coaching carousel was arsenic chaotic arsenic ever this season. Over a twelve caput coaches were fired, creating a fewer astonishing openings astatine programs specified arsenic LSU, Penn State, and Michigan. That led to much than 30 coaching changes crossed nan FBS.

Without question, nan astir arguable move was Lane Kiffin's defection from Ole Miss to LSU pinch nan Rebels connected nan cusp of a College Football Playoff bid. Kiffin took aggregate adjunct coaches and staffers pinch him to Baton Rouge.

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In nan aftermath, Ole Miss promoted protect coordinator Pete Golding to caput coach. The Rebels won their first 2 postseason games earlier falling to Miami successful nan Fiesta Bowl.

Kiffin wanted to coach nan programme successful nan playoffs but wasn't allowed to, creating an awkward business that drew plentifulness of nationalist attention, particularly arsenic nan Rebels continued their run.

With Ole Miss yet being ousted, nan SEC's finest talking head, Paul Finebaum, believes Kiffin tin yet return a activity of caller air.

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

Finebaum doesn't needfully deliberation Kiffin was rooting for nan Rebels to lose, but nan consequence does return immoderate of nan unit disconnected his shoulders.

If Ole Miss someway precocious and won nan nationalist championship, it would bespeak moreover worse connected Kiffin. Regardless, nan business was already unprecedented, pinch a sitting P4 caput coach taking a caller occupation earlier nan CFP.

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“I deliberation heavy down, he had to beryllium very relieved. I’m not going to beryllium truthful cynical to deliberation that he would guidelines against Ole Miss. I don’t deliberation he would," Finebaum said connected The Matt Barrie Show. "I deliberation it’s a portion of who he is."

"But nan thought that Ole Miss isn't playing for nan nationalist championship, I deliberation from a Lane Kiffin standpoint, astir apt made his adjacent week and a half a batch easier, because that communicative conscionable died," Finebaum added. "It died successful nan desert, and, rather frankly, it astir apt should have.”

It's worthy noting that astir of nan assistants who followed Kiffin to LSU opted not to coach successful Ole Miss' last playoff game.

Going into nan 2026 season, Finebaum ranks Kiffin highly successful nan SEC, slotting him down Georgia's Kirby Smart successful nan pecking order.

"I deliberation if you're objective, he's not acold from nan top, and immoderate of this whitethorn conscionable beryllium baked into nan cake," Finebaum said. "You besides person to look astatine Ole Miss' season, pinch aliases without Lane Kiffin, nan last 2 games aliases 3 games, and he built that team."

"I cognize immoderate of you are saying, 'Well, you dislike Lane Kiffin.' I don't dislike Lane Kiffin. I respect what he's done, and he did a phenomenal occupation astatine Ole Miss," Finebaum added. "I deliberation that will recreation to Baton Rouge, which should beryllium an easier programme to build a nationalist title contender."

Kiffin will make his LSU debut erstwhile nan Tigers big Clemson connected Saturday, September 5. Two weeks later, Kiffin returns to Oxford arsenic an force for nan first clip successful what will beryllium 1 of nan astir highly-anticipated games adjacent fall.

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