Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin used Twitter to fire back at Michael Wilbon, host of ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, after one of Wilbon’s rants about Kiffin went viral Tuesday.
While describing why he’s picking No. 1 Alabama to beat No. 12 Ole Miss on Saturday (2:30 p.m., CBS), Wilbon went on a lengthy aside about his views about Kiffin.
“There’s nothing to be proud of if you’re college football because of Lane Kiffin,” Wilbon said on the show. “Lane Kiffin is a clown. Lane Kiffin has been an embarrassment at multiple stops. Nobody is going to run out there and say ‘Yeah, I want Lane Kiffin right there on the logo representing me.’
“Lane Kiffin’s a cute little story for guys like us who have to talk about sports every day and we can come in and say ‘Ha ha ha, Lane Kiffin.’ Lane Kiffin equals embarrassment at some point wherever he is.”
Kiffin responded Tuesday night with a few emojis and said he’ll pray for Wilbon because life is too short to be angry. But that must not have been the end of it, because Kiffin added to the thread Wednesday morning.
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“And way to go out on a (limb) and pick the number one team in the country at home who is a huge favorite,” Kiffin tweeted. “How long did you watch film to make that surprise pick? Really newsworthy captain obvious.”
And way to go out on a limp and pick the number one team in the country at home who is a huge favorite. How long did you watch film to come up with that surprise pick??? Really News worthy captain obvious. 😂 @PTI
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 29, 2021
It’s no secret that Kiffin’s coaching history is littered with missteps. He was fired by the Oakland Raiders after two seasons, left Tennessee after one season to take the USC job and fired by USC early in his fourth season.
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His career has stabilized since 2014, however. After spending three years as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and making the College Football Playoff three times, he spent three years as head coach at FAU and won two Conference USA championships. Now, in his second season at Ole Miss, Kiffin has the Rebels ranked as high as they have been since 2012.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin-Michael Wilbon beef escalates after coach called a ‘clown’