Paul Finebaum: Lane Kiffin would be heading to Alabama if Kalen DeBoer left for Penn State

Paul Finebaum and Lane Kiffin have quite the rapport whenever they speak, but the ESPN commentator can never resist throwing the jab. The latest came as Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU, spurning a chance to coach the Rebels in the College Football Playoff and potentially win a national championship.

But if you told Finebaum this was the final time Kiffin would change jobs, he most certainly would not believe you. In fact, if the internet generated rumors of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer going to Penn State were true, Kiffin might’ve pivoted to Tuscaloosa!

“There’s one more thing to consider here, two years ago … when Nick Saban left, Lane Kiffin was dying for the job,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “You know that, everyone knows that, he never got a call. That’s the job he’s always wanted. He didn’t want LSU. He wanted Alabama. And had Kalen DeBoer lost that game last night and walked out this morning to go to Penn State, which I don’t think was ever going to happen but people thought it might, Lane Kiffin would be heading to Tuscaloosa this morning.”

Heck, Finebaum was ready to predict Kiffin stopping the plane midair, forcing a land and finding his way to Alabama had DeBoer not been with the Crimson Tide anymore. The reality is, the two will be squaring off in 2026 after Alabama’s current College Football Playoff run.

“If the plane was landing right over the Mississippi River into the airport there, and he got the bulletin that DeBoer was leaving, he would say, ‘Hey, I’m going to get out here and Alabama is coming to pick me up,’” Finebaum said. “‘So thanks for the ride. I’ll be happy to reimburse you.’”

Kiffin arrived in Oxford after plenty of ups and downs throughout the early part of his career as a head coach. After spending a season at Tennessee, the coach infamously bolted for USC in 2010 and spent four years there before being fired in the middle of the 2013 season.

He then took a job as offensive coordinator at Alabama under the legendary Nick Saban, using that to latch on to another head coaching opportunity at Florida Atlantic. After leading the Owls to a pair of 11-win seasons, he got another chance to reinvent himself with Ole Miss.

He’s proven an ability to build a contender in the SEC, leaving Oxford with a 55-19 overall record. But now that he’s at LSU, he has to prove himself all over again, considering his track record of getting up and going.