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Paul Finebaum questions if transfer portal philosophy is best fit for Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss
By Mark Kern
Published:
Paul Finebaum has been talking about the transfer portal a lot recently as players are now truly able to enter the portal. There has been talk of players entering for quite some time, but nothing could become official until the portal opened on Dec. 9.
Many teams are already in rebuild mode right now, trying to put together a roster that will be ready to contend next season. Some teams have had a ton of success with the portal, but it isn’t for everybody.
During an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, Finebaum isn’t convinced that Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin should be using the transfer portal heavily.
“You can’t do any better than what Lane Kiffin did in the portal last year. I’m not trying to classify his season as a bust, it wasn’t,” Finebaum said. “Certainly the record was good by Ole Miss standards, but it wasn’t really what everybody thought it would be. I felt Ole Miss was in a similar position to Alabama, without their tradition, in terms of Playoff or bust. That’s where these programs are. They’re elite programs in the SEC, and he failed, and it’s really hard to explain.”
The Rebels finished the season 9-3 and at times looked like a team that could contend in the Playoff. They dominated Georgia at home and also picked up a convincing victory against South Carolina. However, they also had some disappointing losses that kept them from the CFP.
“When you think about how badly they beat South Carolina on the road and then find a way to drop a game to just a terrible Kentucky team and lose in Tiger Stadium,” Finebaum said. “Which isn’t a crime but Ole Miss certainly looked like the better team, that’s all hard to explain. And Lane Kiffin tried to say ‘Well it takes a while, you can’t just bring these guys in and expect them to play well on Day 1.’ Well, you just did the same thing, so what are we supposed to believe and what are we supposed to expect? It just seems like we’ll have the same result, and it’s not enough.”
The Rebels will play their final game of this season against Duke in the Gator Bowl.
