Lane Kiffin goes Round 2 with ESPN's Michael Wilbon after being called 'a clown'

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin isn’t letting ESPN’s Michael Wilbon off the hook after the commentator ranted that Alabama will beat Ole Miss. Wilbon asserted that the Rebels will lose because Kiffin is a “clown.”

“The answer is Alabama because of Lane Kiffin,” Wilbon said. “There’s nothing to be proud of if you’re in college football or any other sport for Lane Kiffin. Lane Kiffin’s a clown. Lane Kiffin has been an embarrassment at multiple stops. Nobody’s going to run out there and say ‘I want Lane Kiffin right here on the logo representing me.’

“The answer’s Alabama. Lane Kiffin is a cute little story for guys like us who have to talk about sports every day and we can come in Monday and say ‘Hahaha Lane Kiffin.’ Once again Lane Kiffin equals embarrassment at some point wherever he is.”

The social media-savvy head coach initially responded on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday morning. First, Kiffin deplored Wilbon for his anger: “I’ll (pray) for you. Life is too short to be so angry.”

After some more time to think about it, Kiffin added his thoughts on the ESPN talking head’s “hot take.”

“And way to go out on a limp [sic] 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 come up with that surprise pick??? Really News worthy [sic] captain obvious.”

Ole Miss heads to Tuscaloosa for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff and the Rebels are currently 17.5-point underdogs, according to VegasInsider.

Saban: ‘Lane does an outstanding job’

So far at Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin has been the opposite of an embarrassment. After leading the Rebels to a 5-5 record in his first season while boasting one of the top offenses in the SEC in 2020, Kiffin has the Rebels off to a 3-0 start to the 2021 season. Quarterback Matt Corral has emerged as the Heisman frontrunner through the first four weeks of the season.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban had high praise for Corral.

“He played really well against us last year,” Saban said of Corral to reporters on Monday. “The guy is very elusive. He can extend plays, very accurate passer. Executes their offense extremely well. He can make plays with his feet, he does pull the ball every now and then. They do have a quarterback run here and there. Not a lot, but just enough to make you defend it on defense. 

Saban was also complimentary towards Kiffin and his team as a whole.

“Ole Miss has an outstanding team,” Saban said. “I think they’ve got like 17 starters back from a team that won eight games last year. Lane does an outstanding job with their offense, their overall team is improved in every category. On defense, on special teams — they really are playing extremely well. This is one of the best offensive teams in the country, no doubt.

“They’ve got really good running backs. They’ve got lots of speed. The offensive line is returning intact. So, a lot of good players that are really well-coached. Their whole fast-ball system is something that’s always a challenge for the defense to get lined up with poise and focus on doing your job. So it’s a real challenge for us from that standpoint.”

High praise from one of the greatest, if not the greatest, college football coaches of all time, which likely means more to Lane Kiffin than Michael Wilbon’s opinion.

On3’s Tim Verghese contributed to this report.