WATCH: SEC Coach Roasts Former Michigan Critic To His Face

There's no doubt that Michigan fans don't have a favorable opinion of college football analyst Paul Finebaum, so it's safe to say they'll love what happened during an exchange at SEC Media Days.

Chris Breiler | Jul 18, 2024

Michigan running back Blake Corum's helmet sits on the turf during warmups before the Ohio State game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

There's no doubt that Michigan fans don't have a favorable opinion of college football analyst Paul Finebaum. Afterall, Finebaum spent the better part of the last nine seasons routinely going after Jim Harbaugh. He once referred to the former U-M head coach as a "fraud", and asserted that Harbaugh was incapable of developing an offense and beating Ohio State.

Ahead of the 2021 season, Finebaum suggested that Michigan should fire Harbaugh and "save the agony of waiting until November." As part of his criticism of Harbaugh, Finebaum would often zero in on his struggles to beat Michigan's top rival. “But when you compare that to his biggest competitor, Ohio State. He looks really bad. I mean he couldn’t deal with Urban Meyer, and he’s feeling even worse with Ryan Day and I think at some point, you just become stale.”

But it wasn't just Harbaugh that Finebaum took issue with, it was also the Michigan fan base. "Michigan fans lately have been the worst," Finebaum said back in 2017. "Because they have won, let's see, half a national championship in about 60 years, and they talk like they're Alabama, Ohio State, [USC], Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Penn State wrapped into one."

Time and time again, Finebaum would never pass up on an opportunity to go after Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan football program. That all changed (for a while) in 2023 after the Wolverines captured the National Championship.

“I was cheering for him last night and I can’t explain it,” Finebaum said. “I’m sure it’s some weird thing back when I was a baby, but I don’t know if I’ve ever been more wrong about anything in my entire life. I didn’t think the guy would ever beat Ohio State, I said on your show a couple of years ago, if I live to be 150 and I’m getting close … but the point being: This is truly remarkable.

“I don’t want to be wrong about something. You never want to be wrong. But if you’re ever going to be epically wrong, out of this constellation, out of this universe wrong, I’ll take it.”

Given that history between the CFB analyst and the Michigan Football program, there's no doubt that Maize and Blue fans will enjoy the exchange between Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and Finebaum this afternoon at SEC Media Days. Kiffin pointed out how Finebaum had been critical of him in the past, leading to an incredible exchange between the two.

Still can’t get over Lane Kiffin’s interaction with Paul Finebaum pic.twitter.com/BdsxooscrH
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) July 18, 2024

To better understand the reason behind Kiffin's roasting of Finebaum, you'd have to go all the way back to the 2013 season. At the time, Kiffin was the head coach at USC and it looked like he was on his way out. It was during that time that Finebaum made an appearance on College Gameday, which is when he referred to Kiffin as the "Miley Cyrus of college football coaches." Shortly after those comments, Kiffin was released at USC. Although its never ideal to be fired, Kiffin ultimately landed on his feet - joining Nick Saban's staff at Alabama. After that, Kiffin became the head coach at Florida Atlantic from 2016-2019, before taking his current position as the head coach at Ole Miss.

It's clear that Finebaum's comments have stayed with Kiffin after all these years, and he certainly didn't pass on his opportunity to punch back at the analyst.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -