Lane Kiffin apparently still harbors a grudge against Paul Finebaum.
During SEC media day on Monday, old hurts between the two resurfaced on air when the conversation turned to Kiffin’s ugly departure from USC, which Finebaum, then appearing on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” may have been involved in.
Feinbaum famously called Kiffin the “Miley Cyrus of college football” on air just hours before the USC football coach was fired on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport after the Trojans lost to Arizona State, a moment neither man will forget to this day.
“It would be a better story if I got you fired,” Finebaum said of Kiffin’s firing at USC.
Kiffin took the sarcasm in stride and used the opportunity to blast Finebaum, his longtime rival.
“It really was,” Kiffin said. “The athletic director and dean were on that trip, and it’s a true story. There was a game that night, and you had to be on ‘College GameDay’ and do some major publicity. They were watching it, too, because I know another person who was watching with them, and you said, I’m kidding, I’m the ‘Miley Cyrus of college football coaches,’ and you should be fired. They looked at each other, and later that night, I was fired.
“But look what happened,” Kiffin continued. “I would never have been able to work for Coach (Nick) Saban. All these other things would never have happened. So I thank him for helping me get fired.”
Finebaum tried to calm the conversation by noting the success Kiffin has enjoyed since those dark days after he was fired from USC.
“Look at what you’re doing today,” Finebaum responded, “projected to make the playoffs. Look at Miley Cyrus. She made a great comeback, too.”
But Kiffin didn’t give up.
“So you were wrong,” Kiffin fired back. “So you disappointed me. I honestly don’t know what you’re good at. You predicted Coach Saban was done and it didn’t happen. You basically said Miley Cyrus was a no-no and she’s still going.”
After leaving USC, Kiffin served as Saban’s offensive coordinator for three seasons before taking the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic University.
In 2020, Kiffin took over as head coach at Ole Miss, which went 11-2 last season and is projected to be a national championship contender in 2024.
