Paul Finebaum compares Lane Kiffin to Nick Saban amid coaching rumors

Lane Kiffin has acquired the respect of Ole Miss‘ administration. They give the head coach what he needs and allow him to work. Kiffin may not have the same authority at another school if he accepted a new coaching gig. During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show, Paul Finebaum compared Kiffin’s current status in Oxford to Nick Saban‘s days at Alabama.

“Right now, everyone in Oxford is saying, ‘We don’t bother Lane.’ I mean, they’re afraid of Lane. It’s a little bit Saban-esque. They won’t be afraid of him anywhere else,” Finebaum said. “Don’t believe that Lane is not considering these jobs, OK? I mean, we know Lane. He’s probably watching this right now, going, ‘I wonder what they’re saying about me right now.’

“I can’t tell you what he’s going to do, but it’s just a matter [of time]. I mean, Auburn came this close to getting him three years ago. The family finally said don’t go, but that’s changed now. I think Lane has another move in him. I just don’t know when it is or where it is, but it’s coming.”

Kiffin has no shortage of options. There are currently nine head coach openings at the Power Four level and several of the schools are reportedly interested in Kiffin, namely Florida and LSU. Nonetheless, it won’t be easy to lure Kiffin away from Ole Miss.

Kiffin is in his sixth season at Ole Miss and on the edge of leading the program to its first College Football Playoff appearance. The Rebels are 8-1 this season and don’t have any ranked opponents remaining in their regular season.

Additionally, Kiffin’s daughter attends Ole Miss and his son plays football at a local high school. Moreover, during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show last week, Kiffin said money wouldn’t influence his decision in the coaching carousel.

“Just so you know, because you haven’t known me very long, Pat, I have never made a decision based off money, nor will I,” Kiffin said. “For a lot of people, they’re just like, ‘Well, money, and it does this and does that.’

“I’ve seen too many examples in life where money does not buy happiness. So I’m never going to make a decision off of money, nor do I care about it. [My agent] Jimmy Sexton gets really mad when I say that. He’s like, ‘We got to get this. We got to get this.’ And, I’m like, ‘Jimmy, I don’t care.’ And he goes, ‘I do!’”

Despite Lane Kiffin’s comments, schools will undoubtedly try to reel him in. For now, Kiffin will remain focused on his team. On Saturday, the Rebels will take on The Citadel at noon CT. The game will air live on SEC Network+.