Paul Finebaum makes case for Florida as better job than LSU for Lane Kiffin

Paul Finebaum made the case that Florida is a better job than LSU for Lane Kiffin, should he decide to leave Ole Miss. That decision is still up in the air, but the world might get their answer right after the Egg Bowl.

As Finebaum pointed out, LSU seems to be the pick from everyone if Kiffin leaves Ole Miss. Florida is firmly in third place among the three teams for a lot of folks. Not Finebaum though.

“The conventional wisdom as of Sunday morning is LSU. I will disagree,” Finebaum said on The Matt Barrie Show. “I think Florida right now is riper. Because the fact that Florida looks so bad last night to me, makes that job a little bit easier than LSU, who ran out a pretty good coach. I don’t think Billy Napier … he may be a good coach somewhere, but he wasn’t a good coach in Florida. I mean, Kelly was good, maybe not great, but LSU had everything on its shelf this year to win a title, and they just couldn’t get it done. So I would gravitate toward Florida a little bit.”

But it’s not just Kiffin’s decision this time, according to Finebaum. If you want to find an indication of where he’s going, look to his family.

“And you mentioned a name earlier, who I think is the most important name in all this, is not Lane Kiffin, it’s Layla Kiffin,” Finebaum said. “And (I’m trying) not to sound (like) TMZ here, but Layla and Lane Kiffin broke up years ago because Lane was Lane. He did his own thing, and he had some disregard for everyone, including his own wife and family. And he sobered up a couple of years ago. He’s been very public about that, and since then, he has brought his family finally back into the loop. So I think this is a family decision. It isn’t a Lane Kiffin decision, and that’s why it was important for Layla Kiffin to go to Florida, where her father played, and where there are some roots, and to go to Louisiana.” 

Lane Kiffin was, perhaps, not expected to stay at Ole Miss long term when he got hired. But maybe the Rebels are no longer a stepping stone job.

“And I think this is as much about Knox Kiffin’s senior year, next year, as it is about what Lane Kiffin does, but also when Lane Kiffin went to Ole Miss, in my mind, he went there as a stepping stone,” Finebaum said. “It turned into a much better job, because three years ago he forced their hand and they finally gave it up. They finally came in. So as of now, it looks like it could win a national championship. But does Lane Kiffin believe in them as much as I think some people outside do?”