‘Can Not Do Anything Right’ — Paul Finebaum Takes Aim at Brian Kelly for Calling Out Steve Sarkisian Before Texas Beat No. 7 Ole Miss

Paul Finebaum had a message for Brian Kelly after the Texas Longhorns’ 34-27 win over the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels. On “The Matt Barrie Show,” the SEC personality said he wanted to “congratulate Brian Kelly for calling out Steve Sarkisian this week.”

Kelly, the former LSU head coach, had blamed Arch Manning’s struggles on Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s play-calling after back-to-back losses to the Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators. Finebaum wasn’t finished.

Paul Finebaum Takes Aim at Brian Kelly’s Radio Gig

For the first time since 1983, Kelly isn’t on a college football sideline, a season after LSU fired him as head coach. He now works as a CBS Sports game analyst and as co-host of a weekly SiriusXM show on college football.

Finebaum went after the radio half of that résumé, then after whatever comes next for Kelly: “He picked a good week to show what a big time Sirius XM radio analyst he is. Brian Kelly can not do anything right other than now I’m sure he’s trying to find one of these off-brand jobs to land.”

It was a two-part shot, one at Kelly’s timing and one at his future, and the timing half goes back to Texas’ October. The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in the country before they lost to Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 10.

A week later they lost 27-24 at home to Florida. Manning threw just 20 passes in that game, completing 14 with a touchdown and no interceptions, and Texas ran for 99 yards. By the time Ole Miss came to town, Texas had slid to No. 19.

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Sarkisian calls the plays for that offense, and that is where Kelly pointed when he spoke with Danny Kanell on SiriusXM: “I think it’s on the play caller. I think the play caller takes a lot of the responsibility. Look, he’s your quarterback. They’re not going back. I mean, they’re not going to bench him unless there’s just a total meltdown.”

Kelly paired the criticism with praise for Sarkisian and a fix for the offense:

“Coach Sarkisian is an outstanding play caller. He understands the game. He’s proven, seasoned, but sometimes there has to be that sit-down conversation … this is about accuracy and higher completion percentage. If we can run the ball with more effectiveness, if you add those two things to the Texas offense, they’re going to win the rest of their football games.”

Finebaum had been no softer on Sarkisian. After the Florida loss he criticized the coach’s “absolute arrogance,” and before Saturday’s game he put the blame in the same place Kelly had: “I’m beginning to wonder if Arch Manning should even start. I know he will, and he’s capable of leading them to a win, but I blame Sarkisian for every aspect of this.”

Then the Longhorns built a 24-3 lead, watched Ole Miss tie it early in the fourth quarter and went ahead for good on Manning’s 1-yard run with 8:04 left. Jelani McDonald’s interception with two seconds to go sealed it. Texas ran 42 times for 207 yards, more than double its total against Florida, and Raleek Brown had 157 of them on 23 carries.

Manning completed 18 of 30 passes for 212 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown to Ryan Wingo, and ran for two scores. He also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble that Kam Franklin recovered in the end zone for an Ole Miss touchdown. Over the season, Manning’s QBi of 72.0 ranks 110th of 173 qualified FBS quarterbacks in Pro Football Network’s CFB QB Impact Grade.

Kelly Has Already Heard the Job Chatter

Finebaum’s last line was about what Kelly might do next. Kelly’s name has come up as a potential fit at Rutgers, where the Scarlet Knights are 2-5 under head coach Greg Schiano, and in April he said he wants “to get back to building relationships and successful programs.”

Earlier this season, he addressed those rumors: “You hate hearing the rumors, because that means somebody’s job is being evaluated … I don’t relish my name being mentioned for other jobs. I’m pulling for the guy that’s got that job, and I want to see him do well.”

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Texas, now 5-2 and eighth in the SEC, hosts the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. Then come road trips to the Missouri Tigers on Nov. 7 and the LSU Tigers, Kelly’s former program, on Nov. 14.

PFN’s College Football Playoff Meter gives Texas a 45.4% chance to make the playoff, and a win over Mississippi State would lift that to 53.7%. The meter gives the Longhorns a 44.5% chance to win at LSU.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.