Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin continues to praise ESPN's Paul Finebaum, who indirectly helped get him “fired” from the University of Southern California more than a decade ago.
Kiffin joined Nick Saban's staff at the University of Alabama in 2014 after leaving Southern California.
In 2013, Finebaum characterized Kiffin as “the Miley Cyrus of college football.” On the same day, Kiffin was fired as head coach at the University of Southern California.
“How did someone like Lane Kiffin get a job like this?” Finebaum said at the time. “How did he get the job with the Raiders? At Tennessee? And especially the job at SC? People attribute it to his father, Monte, who is a great defensive wizard. In some ways, Lane Kiffin is the Miley Cyrus of college football.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin signals his players during the second half of a game on Oct. 26, 2024 in Oxford, Michigan. (AP Photo/Sarah Warnock)
Finebaum was quick to point out the difference between Kiffin and the music star, noting that the coach “has very little talent.”
Kirby Smart apologizes for calling Georgia players “stupid'' for trying to celebrate with Ole Miss fans
“He has very little talent, but we can't take our eyes off him,” Finebaum said.
Kiffin, who coached Ole Miss to an upset victory over the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, was a guest on Finebaum's ESPN show on Wednesday. Kiffin jokingly credited Finebaum with contributing to his work, which ended in 2013.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin watches a play review during the second half of the game against Oklahoma on Oct. 26, 2024 in Oxford, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Sarah Warnock)
Kiffin suggested that if it weren't for Finebaum's critical comments years ago, he would not have taken on his subsequent positions at Alabama and Florida Atlantic, or his current position.
“Someone else is going to get Finebaum's love somewhere,” Kiffin said, referring to his checkered past with Finebaum.
“And when you take the shot, I'm OK with it. We've talked about this before. It makes you better, it gets you through things. We said it before when you fired me at Cal. Now, if you hadn't fired me, I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't have helped Georgia win, So I appreciate you. Thank you for making Miley's day. Cyrus commented.
Radio and ESPN television personality Paul Finebaum prepares to speak on television outside the Superdome before the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in New Orleans on January 13, 2020. . (Ken Ruinard/Staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
Finebaum congratulated Kiffin on his memorable win last week, saying he was “delighted” to see the coach succeed.
“Coach, thank you for always remembering me,” Finebaum said. “And congratulations again. We're all so happy for you. Miley Cyrus needs to be remembered or not.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Ole Miss is ranked 11th in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. If the postseason started today, the Rebels would face the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Follow sports coverage on Fox News Digital's X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Albanian
Croatian
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Macedonian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish