Stephen A. Smith points out hypocrisy of Paul Finebaum amid Lane Kiffin sweepstakes

In a segment about Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and his potential offers around college football, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith came down hard on Paul Finebaum for what he viewed as a little bit of hypocrisy. It centered around Kiffin looking at other jobs.

Finebaum was making the argument on ESPN’s First Take that Kiffin has provided his Ole Miss team with a huge distraction as it seeks to make the playoffs. Smith jumped in quickly.

He saw a parallel. And he wasn’t going to let it slip by.

“Wait a minute. Paul, Paul… I recall, I’m sorry to bring this up, but I just think it’s necessary to bring up,” Smith told Paul Finebaum. “I can say and most people can’t say this because they don’t venture into the lanes that I venture into and that you might venture into.

“I recall you saying that you absolutely love working at ESPN. You love being the ‘Mouth of the South,’ you love the Paul Finebaum Show, you love being on Get Up, you love being on First Take. You do a marvelous job. You’re a very invaluable asset to this company. We love you, Paul. But you sat up there on the airwaves and said, ‘Hey man, if the opportunity presents itself I might be a Senator. Yeah, I don’t know.'”

The implication for Paul Finebaum was clear. It’s a little disingenuous to speak about Kiffin’s interest in other jobs in a negative light when Finebaum himself is reportedly exploring potential opportunities in Congress.

Of course, Kiffin might be under a touch more scrutiny than Finebaum. And, given the sheer amount of reporting done on the topic, it does appear that Kiffin’s dalliance with other job offers has become a distraction of sorts.

Still, Smith wasn’t going without hammering home his point to Paul Finebaum. He concluded.

“What I’m saying to you is, hey, last time I checked two things can be true,” Smith said. “You can absolutely, positively love where you are, but you can explore a potentially better opportunity. I don’t consider that a crime. This is America. This is America.

“You’ve got LSU, you’ve got Florida. Those are better opportunities, potentially, than Ole Miss. There’s nothing wrong with him entertaining it and seeing what they have to offer.”