Lane Kiffin 'Grateful' Paul Finebaum Got Him Fired From USC

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Owen Crisafulli | Last updated Nov 13, 2024 5:00 PM ET

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels are riding high heading into their Week 12 action, as they are fresh off an impressive 28-10 victory over Georgia in Week 11. And as they prepare for their upcoming action, Kiffin took a moment to send a surprising message to Paul Finebaum.

Kiffin and Finebaum have allegedly had beef for years due to comments Finebaum made about Kiffin during his USC Trojans stint. Finebaum suggested Kiffin should be fired during an episode of College GameDay that USC's athletic director and president were watching, and sure enough, the Trojans let go of Kiffin just a few hours later.

Now, though, Ole Miss is the No. 10 ranked team in the nation, with Kiffin turning them into an offensive machine. With that in mind, Kiffin thanked Finebaum for making the comments that may or may not have led to his firing from USC, even labeling himself "grateful" in the process.

"You got me fired from USC, we've said that before," Kiffin said on The Paul Finebaum Show. "Now I'm saying, 'Hey, I wouldn't have been here to have the Georgia win if you hadn't gotten me fired at USC, and I wouldn't have went and worked for Coach Saban.' Again, I'm grateful to you Paul. Thanks for that day. Thanks for the Miley Cyrus comment."

Nothing to see here... just a normal interview with @Lane_Kiffin pic.twitter.com/U3yMC0SknR
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) November 13, 2024

While Kiffin was likely upset with Finebaum's disparaging comments against him at the time, which included Finebaum calling him the "Miley Cyrus of college football coaching," he's changed his view on the incident over time, and is now actually grateful for everything that has led him to where he is now.

This isn't the first time Kiffin has expressed this to Finebaum, so who knows, maybe the hatchet has finally been buried. Finebaum has been quite a harsh critic of Kiffin throughout his coaching career, though, so there's a chance that he says something about him in the future that could lead to the Rebels head coach changing his mind.

For now, though, Kiffin and Ole Miss are enjoying their week off, but before you know it, they will quickly turn their attention towards their Week 13 contest against Florida.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: