Paul Finebaum didn’t hold back when he talked about Lane Kiffin, and the LSU head coach came away with a brutal label.
During a recent podcast appearance, Finebaum said Kiffin has a way of pulling fan bases in and getting them fully bought in before things turn sour.
“One thing about Lane Kiffin, as starry as his character has shown to be, he has this innate ability to make a fan base fall in love with him .. The reality was that Ole Miss fans believed everything he said.
He’s like a cult leader. Lane doesn’t hand out drinks of poison like Jim Jones 40 years ago.
But he does have this ability.” Finebaum said.
“And I mean, people wanted to fight you on the streets of the square: ‘How could you dare say he’s going to leave?’ And now they want to kill the guy. Same thing happened in Tennessee … Lane Kiffin will have excuses ready to go”
Finebaum has defended Kiffin in the past, but this time he made clear where he stands on the LSU coach.
The criticism lands hard because Kiffin’s career has followed the same pattern more than once. He’s built trust with fan bases, said the right things, and then moved on when a bigger job opened up. That path has taken him from Tennessee to USC and then to Ole Miss.
At Ole Miss, Kiffin restored his reputation. He turned the Rebels into a contender and made them one of the SEC’s most entertaining teams. He also became one of the most recognizable coaches in college football.
But the move to LSU made the whole thing more explosive. Kiffin didn’t leave in a quiet offseason window. He walked away while Ole Miss was still in the middle of a College Football Playoff run, which made the timing feel especially harsh for Rebels fans.
Now the pressure shifts to Baton Rouge. LSU expects to compete for championships, and there won’t be much room for patience if the results don’t match the standard.
Whether Finebaum’s “cult leader” line sticks is another question. What’s not up for debate is that Kiffin has a track record of winning people over. The real test at LSU is whether that charm can lead to lasting success before the next big opportunity comes along.
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