"Odd couple" Lane Kiffin & Paul Finebaum fire shots at each other in hilarious interview at SEC Media Days 2025

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin led the Rebels to a consecutive 10-win season last year to bring his overall record in Oxford to 44-18 in four years in charge. Under his tutelage, the Rebels missed out on the expanded college football playoffs by a whisker.

During the 2025 SEC media days, Kiffin appeared on the SEC Network alongside outspoken ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum, and the duo proceeded to have a hilarious back-and-forth interview. During the interview, the Ole Miss coach joked about Finebaum's power to change public opinion over the success of his season and put him on the hot seat.

“The only way I’ll be on the hot seat in the next month will be you if you decide to do one of your things where you’re, like, because everybody listens to you as the voice of college football and the SEC, and you’re, like, ‘I don’t know, man,’" Kiffin said.

“This Lane Kiffin can’t ever win a big game, can’t get it done. You know, like, there needs to be a change in Oxford if he doesn’t get to the final four this year.’"

"I was at a place, and I won’t say where and the fans were chanting, 'We want Lane.' I don’t manufacture jobs for Lane Kiffin. Now, they changed their mind after you lost," Paul Finebaum said.

Last season, Paul Finebaum also linked Kiffin to the Florida Gators job during the season when Billy Napier's team was going through a tough period and the Rebels were in contention for the SEC championship game.

Paul Finebaum rubbishes Lane Kiffin's hot seat speculation

Paul Finebaum has never been afraid to voice his opinion about SEC coaches despite hobnobbing with them during the conference's media days. Last season, he was highly critical of Lane Kiffin for missing out on the College Football Playoff.

During an appearance on the "McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning" show during the SEC media days, Finebaum rubbished the notion of Kiffin being on college football's hot seat.

“I’m not going to mention the name, they sent me a question earlier," Finebaum said. "(They) wondered, ‘Do you think he should be on the hot seat?’ And I’m like, ‘In what world are we with Lane Kiffin?'

“It’s not real. It’s not real, but I think perception is that because he didn’t make it last year to the CFP and everybody thought. And I tried to gently explain to this producer, he’s really beloved. He’s getting a new deal every other week. But, sometimes we live in this bubble and the rest of the world watches from an Eastern locale.”

Kiffin was strongly linked with a move to take the Auburn Tigers job in 2024, but he turned down the chance to take over from Hugh Freeze and committed to the Ole Miss Rebels.