Lane Kiffin thanks Paul Finebaum for helping him get to coach Ole Miss football

Over ten years ago, nobody would have guessed Lane Kiffin would be where he is today at Ole Miss. After leaving Tennessee to take the USC job, he had three successful seasons before being fired five games into his fourth season.

The story goes that Paul Finebaum's comments at the time helped get Lane Kiffin fired. Speaking to each other on the SEC Network on July 15, Finebaum said about the Kiffin firing in 2013, "It's a better story if I got you fired."

Kiffin responded, "You really did." He continued to tell the story around the day of the firing, with Finebaum calling him the Miley Cyrus of college football.

After the firing, Kiffin worked under Nick Saban for three seasons as the Alabama offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He then took the head coaching job at Florida Atlantic, winning two Conference-USA titles, before taking the Ole Miss head coaching job.

Heading into his fifth season with the Rebels and looking to make history, Lane Kiffin thanked Paul Finebaum for his role in his firing at USC.

"“But hey, look what happened. I would never have gotten to work for Coach Saban. All of these other things wouldn’t have happened. So I appreciate you for helping getting me fired.”"

- Lane Kiffin to Paul Finebaum

Lane Kiffin looking to prove Paul Finebaum wrong

Known as the "Mouth from the South," Paul Finebaum recently spoke about Ole Miss and their playoff chances, saying he doesn't think they will make the playoffs and will believe it when he sees it.

Well, this could be the year when Lane Kiffin does just that. Despite past differences, Kiffin and Finebaum look to have a healthier relationship, still full of friendly digs at one another.

Despite not saying it out loud, I'm sure Lane Kiffin will take great satisfaction in proving Finebaum wrong and making the College Football Playoffs this season. I guess it works the other way, with Finebaum hoping to make sure people are aware he was right if the Rebels don't succeed.

However, this season finishes for Ole Miss, expect this back and forth to continue for some time.