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Lane Kiffin appears to be weighing his future at Ole Miss, and it’s a hot topic on sports talk shows.
ESPN’s “First Take” with Stephen A. Smith, Paul Finebaum and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo discussed whether Kiffin should stay with the Rebels long-term as several other college and NFL jobs have opened up in recent weeks.
Smith, however, hinted that some black players would prefer to play elsewhere.
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Paul Finebaum was offended by Stephen A. Smith’s “racial” comments about the Ole Miss job. (Rick Ulreich, Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
“I’ll bring it home, okay?… You can’t say it. Leave it to me, I’ll say it: The brothers don’t try to come to Oxford, Mississippi, for the most part, compared to Gainesville or Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Let’s call it what it is,” Smith said on “First Take.”
Finebaum did not respond to Smith on air, but made his feelings known on his own radio show later that same day.
“He clearly made it racial,” Finebaum said. “He said clearly, in his words, ‘The brothers don’t want to go to Oxford, Mississippi,’ which has been proven to be completely incorrect. I’ve been to Oxford a million times, and I think it’s terribly unfair to bring echoes of yesteryear, the ’60s, and try to portray Oxford as that kind of place today. It’s not. The South has changed. You can make your own interpretation, but talking about Oxford while saying that Gainesville and Baton Rouge would be Utopia was just baffling to me.”
ESPN/SEC Network Analyst Paul Finebaum is on set before the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ohio State Buckeyes on December 31, 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Smith also suggested racial implications when the Miami Dolphins and former general manager Chris Grier, who is black, parted ways.
“This is nonsense. That’s the first fire? Really? That’s what we’re doing?” it was about your [Tagovailoa]. It was Mike McDaniel. “And they fire the brother first?” Smith said when the news broke while he was in “First take.”
“I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it because of the way he looks. You’re in charge, I get it. I get it. I’m all for brothers as head coaches and general managers. We know the battles I’ve been fighting for over 30 years. I get it,” Smith continued. “But when you don’t do the job, you don’t do the damn job. I got him. Don’t tell me it’s just him. Don’t tell me we’re leaving Mike McDaniel in place, firing him and moving him. Damn. I’m waiting for more news.”
McDaniel, who still has his job, is of African American ancestry from his grandmother.
Stephen A. Smith appears as a guest on “The View.” (Lou Rocco/American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. via Getty Images)
Kiffin has been with Ole Miss since 2020 after previous stops at Florida Atlantic, USC and Tennessee. He was the offensive coordinator at Alabama between his jobs at USC and FAU. There has been speculation that he could join former Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart with the New York Giants; Dart’s father even texted the coach, but Kiffin apparently said New York was “too cold.”
