Paul Finebaum had a little fun with the summer sports lull on Thursday, and he used Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift and Lane Kiffin to do it.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, the ESPN and SEC Network analyst was asked about the couple’s upcoming marriage, which is expected to take place Friday at Madison Square Garden. Finebaum opened with a joke about a previous trip to MSG, saying, "I nearly got arrested so I came back home," before shifting to the newly engaged pair and his idea of a wedding gift.
"I planned to bring them a puppy because every marriage, every new couple needs a puppy to bring them together."
Then came the line that made the whole exchange feel like classic Finebaum. When SportsCenter host Brian Custer asked whether the marriage would last longer than Lane Kiffin’s run at LSU, Finebaum didn’t blink.
"That's the easiest question you've ever asked me," Finebaum said. "Yes, yes, yes.
Kiffin has no shot at LSU. I think these two are going to make it."
It was a pointed shot, but not a surprising one. Finebaum has been one of Kiffin’s loudest critics since Kiffin left Ole Miss last November. He called him a "bridge-burner" for departing before the Rebels’ College Football Playoff run and has repeatedly suggested that Kiffin could be tempted by another job if the right one came along.
Finebaum has also questioned whether Kiffin fully understands the pressure that comes with LSU. More recently, he described the Tigers as "probably the biggest mystery on the board this year."
The skepticism is easy to trace through Kiffin’s coaching history. He spent one season at Tennessee before leaving for USC, was fired five games into his fourth year with the Trojans, and then coached three seasons at Florida Atlantic before landing at Ole Miss. His longest stint as a head coach has been the six years he spent in Oxford.
LSU still handed him a seven-year, $91 million contract, betting on stability and immediate results. Kiffin, for his part, brought in the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country, led by former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and including four players who followed him from Ole Miss. He also kept defensive coordinator Blake Baker and put together a staff built to win right away.
The schedule helps, too. Clemson, Texas A&M, Alabama and Texas all come to Baton Rouge.
Even with all that in place, Finebaum has kept the pressure on. In May, he said Kiffin had one more season to make the College Football Playoff before he would call him overrated. On Thursday, he found a fresh way to make the same point, using a celebrity wedding as the setup.
The timing only made the comparison sharper. Kelce and Swift announced their engagement in August 2025 and have kept wedding planning tightly controlled, while Kiffin’s exit from Oxford came with boos and one-finger salutes as he headed to Baton Rouge.
Kiffin and LSU are set to head into SEC Media Days, which begin July 20 in Tampa.
In Other News...
Nations Top Running Back Just Delivered Another Recruiting Gut Punch
The 2027 recruiting cycle keeps delivering jolts, and the latest one came from the top of the running back board. Kemon Spell, the No. 1 back in the class, changed his commitment in a move Rivals analysts called the biggest flip of the cycle so far, another reminder that even the most celebrated pledges are still very much in play as programs keep pushing.
Spells decision fits a broader pattern that has already seen other high-profile prospects move around, with names like AiKing Hall, Jaiden Bryant and Donte Wright all changing course as the cycle unfolds. For LSU, it is part of the larger reality of modern recruiting: the Tigers are still battling for elite talent elsewhere, but the board remains fluid enough that more twists could be coming before this class settles down. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Added A Tackle Who Could Matter More Than Fans Think
Sean Thompkins Jr. gives LSU something every program wants but rarely talks about enough: a tackle with some real game experience who can still be molded. The redshirt junior, who wears No. 65, has already appeared in 11 games and made five starts in the Big 12, which gives the Tigers a more seasoned option than the usual depth-piece profile suggests.
For now, though, Thompkins is expected to spend this season developing behind starting left tackle Jordan Seaton rather than pushing for that job immediately. He still has two years of eligibility left, which makes his next step worth watching as LSU sorts out how much value it can squeeze from a player who may be more important down the road than he is right now. [Read more 🡒]