One memorable moment for college football analyst Paul Feinbaum on ESPN dates back to 2013 when Lane Kiffin likened himself to the “Miley Cyrus of College Football.” At that time, Kiffin, who was coaching at Ole Miss, wasn’t widely seen as a top-tier coach, though he did have NFL coaching connections through his father, Monte Kiffin.
Kiffin had a short stint as head coach of the Oakland Raiders before moving on to volunteer at Tennessee and eventually landing at USC. Feinbaum’s infamous remark came during Kiffin’s tenure with the Trojans. Recently, Feinbaum shared a reflection on that moment, noting that while he wasn’t fond of Kiffin due to his exit from Tennessee, the comparison sparked quite a reaction from his wife and colleagues.
He recounted, “I ended my monologue with ‘Lane Kiffin is Miley Cyrus from College Football.’ Miley wasn’t popular back then, and after that, I left the set and no one spoke to me. It dawned on me later, while sitting on a plane to Atlanta, that Kiffin had a loyal following.” After returning home, he heard from his wife that people didn’t greet him warmly at the show, and a colleague told him it was the “stupidest thing” he’d ever said.
Feinbaum recalled waking up to a call from ESPN and hearing the breaking news on “SportsCenter” about Kiffin being fired shortly after a loss to Arizona, an event that had turned into a major story. Kiffin, he noted, rose from those lows to become a respected head coach in college football.
After leaving USC, Kiffin worked as an offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama, then coached at Florida Atlantic before taking over at Ole Miss. His leadership has led the Rebels to bowl game appearances in each of his first five seasons and three 10-win seasons.
Currently, Ole Miss stands fourth in national rankings with a perfect 5-0 record as the season gets underway. The team has seen significant improvement since Kiffin’s arrival and recently enhanced their standing after defeating LSU. They are set to take a break before facing Washington State on October 11.
