Paul Finebaum calls out Lane Kiffin after appearance on Pat McAfee Show, denying ultimatum

On Tuesday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin denied the report that the school had given him an ultimatum to decide whether he’s leaving or not by the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28. Later that day, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on Kiffin’s comments.

“I understand if you’re Layla Kiffin, you want to check out where your son might be playing quarterback, but there are ways of doing that without this circus routine that’s going on right now. I do think Lake Kiffin is doing Ole Miss a disservice,” Finebaum said on his show. “Anytime you’re indecisive, and I promise you, we’ve all been there, you make it difficult for the people who are wanting and needing to know the answer.

“There are ways of doing it, and sometimes it is out in the public domain. And in Kiffin’s case, I don’t see how he helped himself today by going on McAfee.”

The Athletic first reported that Ole Miss had given Kiffin an ultimatum. LSU and Florida are both interested in hiring Kiffin as their next head coach. Kiffin is entertaining the programs’ interest.

On Sunday, Kiffin’s family traveled to Gainesville, Florida, to tour the city. Just one day later, they toured Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While Kiffin hasn’t denied the rumors of him entertaining outside job openings, he’s also repeatedly stated his love for Ole Miss.

After all, the Rebels are having their best season yet under Kiffin. They are 10-1 and expected to make their first appearance in program history in the College Football Playoff. Alas, Finebaum isn’t convinced Kiffin’s kind words for his current school mean much in the grand scheme of things.

“Let’s just talk for a second about what specifically Lane Kiffin said today, and how did it clear up the situation?” Finebaum said. “He goes on one of the most watched shows on TV to do what? Not to talk about his next game or the season, but to talk about himself.

“Where in that statement today did Lane Kiffin deny anything that is going on. All he really said was the ultimatum by Ole Miss is not true? Does that really matter? Does it make any difference? So what Lane Kiffin did was he chose the lowest-hanging fruit story about Ole Miss issuing him an ultimatum. So, he didn’t clear anything up.”

Ole Miss is on a bye this week before it squares off against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28. The game will air live on ABC.