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Fans reacted as Ole Miss's Lane Kiffin went to war with SEC Network analyst and longtime conference commentator Paul Finebaum on SEC Media Day on Thursday.
During a conversation between the two in the SEC Network on Thursday, an old wound reopened, when the discussion turned to Finebaum's supposed involvement in Kiffin's dismissal from the USC Trojans. When touching on the incident, Finebaum said:
“It’s a better story if I got you fired.”
Fans didn't appreciate the commentary from the veteran analyst, with one taking to X to state:
"It’s embarrassing that Finebaum is the media face of the SEC. That dude s**ks."
Others seem to think that it was a unique clash of personalities:
"It’s never the same energy when you face to face"
Some sided with Finebaum in the incident:
"Well Lane maybe don’t have a mid life crisis."
In general, most fans seemed to take Lane Kiffin's side of the argument.
What did Lane Kiffin reply to Paul Finebaum's comment?
Lane Kiffin and Paul Finebaum are well known to have butted heads in the past. The incident in Finebaum called Kiffin "The Miley Cirus of football" just hours ahead of his dismissal was the highest point of tension between them.
When the situation resurfaced on Thursday, the coach took the opportunity to reply in kind:
“You really did, because it is a true story that the athletic director and the president were on that trip. We were playing that night and you were on ‘College GameDay’ and you had to make your big splash.
"They were watching it because I know the other person in the room who was watching it with them. And you said what a joke I was, I’m the ‘Miley Cyrus of college football coaching’ and I should be fired. They looked at each other and later that night, I was fired. ..."
"But hey, look what happened, I would never have gotten to work for Coach (Nick) Saban. All of these other things wouldn’t have happened. So, I appreciate you for helping getting me fired.”
Eventually, the change to Alabama was a momentous step in Lane Kiffin's career. At Tuscaloosa, he created a national championship-winning offense under Saban, which eventually led him to secure the important job at Oxford for the Rebels.
