{"id":862881,"date":"2026-04-10T05:39:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862881\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T05:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T05:39:23","slug":"paul-finebaum-sends-challenge-to-lsu-head-coach-lane-kiffin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862881\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Finebaum sends challenge to LSU head coach Lane Kiffin"},"content":{"rendered":"

The college football<\/a> landscape currently is not in a strong position. The NCAA is dealing with multiple lawsuits over denied eligibility and is also adjusting rules for 2026.<\/p>\n

However, football remains king in American sports. Fans always show interest in discussing it. With the NFL Draft<\/a> approaching, spring practices will soon begin.<\/p>\n

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A few new faces will take over college football programs in the SEC. Among them, LSU will be led by polarizing head coach Lane Kiffin.<\/p>\n

MORE: Wide receivers to watch in 2026 college football<\/a><\/p>\n

Kiffin has faced heavy criticism for how he left his job at Ole Miss. One of his harshest critics is ESPN\u2019s Paul Finebaum.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Finebaum has a well-observed allegiance to SEC football. However, he does not hesitate to point out flaws in programs across the conference.<\/p>\n

A caller to his show<\/a> asked Finebaum why Kiffin felt the need to leave what he had built at Ole Miss. Finebaum responded while also issuing a challenge to Kiffin.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe only way he\u2019ll prove himself correct is if he wins the title.\u201d Finebaum said. This presents a tall task, especially for someone who does not believe Kiffin made the right move.<\/p>\n

MORE: Why Ohio State\u2019s Jeremiah Smith walked away from $10M transfer portal decision<\/a><\/p>\n

Certainly, one can argue that Kiffin\u2019s move made sense as LSU offers better resources. Moreover, the program provided him with a significant pay raise. Money talks, and it made Kiffin walk.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kiffin not only wants to prove himself right, but he also wants to prove his critics wrong. Once he left Ole Miss, many people thought or said the same thing: \u201cSame old Lane Kiffin.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The same coach whom the late Al Davis called a \u2018disgrace\u2019 to the then-Oakland Raiders. The same coach who left Tennessee after one year for USC, then left FAU for Ole Miss.<\/p>\n

Despite Kiffin appearing in a documentary to boost his public image, this decision may have undone that effort. Perhaps it is not just about proving himself right or others wrong.<\/p>\n

He may soon face something that makes diamonds or bursts pipes: pressure. How will the Kiffin era at LSU unfold?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The college football landscape currently is not in a strong position. The NCAA is dealing with multiple lawsuits…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[331,7,5042,1564,978,9737,2972,49,48,899,8007],"class_list":{"0":"post-862881","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-college-football","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-houston-cougars","11":"tag-lane-kiffin","12":"tag-lsu","13":"tag-mandatory-credit","14":"tag-miami-hurricanes","15":"tag-ncaa","16":"tag-ncaa-football","17":"tag-ole-miss","18":"tag-paul-finebaum"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116378808475380574","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}