Paul Finebaum: Lane Kiffin is not built for Alabama
Paul Finebaum left Saturday’s showdown between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ole Miss Rebels unimpressed with the latter’s leader in Lane Kiffin.
Some have championed Kiffin as a potential replacement for Nick Saban, when the best to ever roam the sidelines in college football decides to hang up his headset. On Monday, following Ole Miss’ loss to the Crimson Tide, Finebuam joined McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning to douse water on that suggestion.
“I’m glad you brought that up, because I quit arguing with fans on the subject. I had never seen it, and sometimes maybe you think you know too much. To me, it’s just that there’s a lot of mistrust of Lane Kiffin, in terms of his behavior,” Finebaum said. “He behaves like a child. Last week, it was on center stage. There’s no reason for this. I mean, I do not think — two things I will say. Lane Kiffin will not succeed Nick Saban, nor will Lane Kiffin ever beat Nick Saban.
“I think, whenever we get to that day, the people that will make the decision will not bat an eye.”
Continuing, Finebaum believes Kiffin simply isn’t built for the rigors that one of the most prestigious gigs in college football would present him with.
“Yeah, I’m sure there’s plenty of fans out there, north of town, south of town, east and west, who think he’s cute on Twitter. That’s great, he is. Everything you’ve said about his coaching is true. I feel the same way about him that you do. But he is not built for Bama, to steal a cliche that many Alabama fans live by. I think he would fail there, because there’s just something missing in his DNA,” added Finebaum. “Other than the fact that, I think I read today that his biggest win since leaving Southern Cal, is against Indiana in a bowl game a couple of years ago. He just does not perform well in these games. It’s not only Alabama, Greg. As you know, you’ve done enough of his games. He might pull one out this weekend against LSU. He needs to, because the season — the SEC season, will be lost without it.
“I’m just continually underwhelmed by Kiffin in these games, and I think this was the team, he had the team to do it this time. There’s no excuses.”
While Lane Kiffin is never concerned with what Paul Finebaum has to say, his performances against Nick Saban have left much to be desired. Ole Miss will look to get back on the horse this weekend, and get their season back on track before it’s too late.