College Football is officially back, and so is another one of ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum’s scathing attacks on LSU head coach Lane Kiffin.
That continues as a chaotic debate around the program’s efforts to potentially add former Ole Miss players Zxavian Harris and Dae’Quan Wright to its roster, both of whom had signed contracts with NFL teams. On Saturday, Finebaum took that criticism to another level.
Paul Finebaum Calls Lane Kiffin a Child, Floats LSU Getting Kicked Out of SEC
Finebaum had already labeled Kiffin, college football’s “villain,” a few days ago during a discussion on the eligibility dispute. But as the saga appeared to come to a temporary halt ahead of LSU’s season opener against Clemson, Finebaum unleashed an even more brutal attack on the Tigers’ coach.
“We can all wrap our arms around Lane Kiffin and say he’s lovable, he’s a great coach,” Finebaum said. “But in the end, he’s a child. He’s a 51-year-old man behaving like a 16-year-old. And the worst part, there are no adults in the room.”
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The veteran SEC Network analyst did not stop with Kiffin. Finebaum also questioned LSU’s administration and whether anyone at the university had stepped in to oversee the situation.
“I thought all college campuses have an athletic director. The one at LSU has been nowhere to be found. The president, Wade Rousse, has been nowhere to be found,” Finebaum continued. “The governor is calling all the shots, and I wonder if there’s any supervision. Does LSU have a board of supervisors? Is someone in charge to allow this to go on?”
“There are no adults in the room.”
Paul Finebaum SOUNDS OFF on all the drama surrounding LSU right now 😳 pic.twitter.com/NzIRmKIE29
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 5, 2026
Finebaum had previously suggested that Kiffin was risking his relationship with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey by continuing to challenge the SEC over the eligibility issue. This time, though, he suggested the entire saga had damaged LSU’s standing within the conference.
“We can quibble about should these guys have come back. That’s for another day. That’s for a court,” Finebaum said. “But what happened down there has left a stain on this league.”
He also floated an extreme hypothetical about how LSU’s fellow SEC schools might view the situation, potentially culminating in the Tigers’ exit from the league.
“And I know it’s not going to happen, and it probably shouldn’t happen. But if the presidents of the SEC took a vote today, they very well might vote to kick LSU out of the league,” Finebaum suggested. “And I can tell you, fans out there would not be the least bit upset by it.”
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While Finebaum continues his heated attacks on Kiffin, the controversy has cooled down, for now, after it was reported that LSU did not add Harris and Wright to its roster for Saturday’s matchup against Clemson.
The two Tigers will kick off their 2026 season at 7:30 p.m. ET in Death Valley, marking the beginning of the “Lane Kiffin era” at LSU.
