- May 21, 2026
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At halftime of Saturday night's 51-10 blowout win over Clemson, when LSU won 31-3, Tigers coach Lane Kiffin capped an on-field interview by saying, "Imagine if we had pro players."
After the game, Kiffin was asked about his halftime wisecrack.
"What's the difference?" Kiffin said. "Everybody hates you. They can't hate you that much more. So there you go. You got another line."
Kiffin took comfort in the fact that the NFL transfer storyline didn't loom over the outcome of the game.
"I'm just really glad they played the way they did, so that wouldn't have been the story," Kiffin said. "Because I get it . . . even if we won close and kind of ugly, the whole story would have been, 'Man, I screwed the team up by doing this.' And I said this morning, 'You can not agree with it. I've been criticized heavily for the last two weeks saying I did that.' . . . But my job is not to please you and worry about what you're going to write. My job is what I believe is right, and I believe we're fighting for what was right for those kids.
"I'm not going to get into all the reasons, but that's what I believe. And so many people don't like that, but they don't understand that."
Still, Kiffin knew or should have known that his effort to bring back players with NFL offseason and preseason experience would have sparked a backlash, especially at a time when the powers-that-be are looking for anything they can use to get Congress to clean up the mess that has flowed directly from the implosion of decades of antitrust violations.
They've been huffing and puffing about "pro players" returning to college football, while ignoring the fact that college football players have become pro players. They've been glossing over the fact that Nick Saban once brought an NFL free agent (Trent Richardson) back to campus to practice against college players. And they've been sinking their teeth into the disingenuous notion that the returning pro players will displace current players, ignoring the basic reality that current players get displaced all the time, by transfers and other incoming recruits.
Yes, he may be naturally inclined to wear a black hat. Or maybe he's just not afraid to do what's right for his team, even if the strategy plays directly into the hands of those who hope to parlay the current chaos into an antitrust exemption that allows player income to be restricted and player mobility to be limited.
After the game, Kiffin was asked about his halftime wisecrack.
"What's the difference?" Kiffin said. "Everybody hates you. They can't hate you that much more. So there you go. You got another line."
Kiffin took comfort in the fact that the NFL transfer storyline didn't loom over the outcome of the game.
"I'm just really glad they played the way they did, so that wouldn't have been the story," Kiffin said. "Because I get it . . . even if we won close and kind of ugly, the whole story would have been, 'Man, I screwed the team up by doing this.' And I said this morning, 'You can not agree with it. I've been criticized heavily for the last two weeks saying I did that.' . . . But my job is not to please you and worry about what you're going to write. My job is what I believe is right, and I believe we're fighting for what was right for those kids.
"I'm not going to get into all the reasons, but that's what I believe. And so many people don't like that, but they don't understand that."
Still, Kiffin knew or should have known that his effort to bring back players with NFL offseason and preseason experience would have sparked a backlash, especially at a time when the powers-that-be are looking for anything they can use to get Congress to clean up the mess that has flowed directly from the implosion of decades of antitrust violations.
They've been huffing and puffing about "pro players" returning to college football, while ignoring the fact that college football players have become pro players. They've been glossing over the fact that Nick Saban once brought an NFL free agent (Trent Richardson) back to campus to practice against college players. And they've been sinking their teeth into the disingenuous notion that the returning pro players will displace current players, ignoring the basic reality that current players get displaced all the time, by transfers and other incoming recruits.
Yes, he may be naturally inclined to wear a black hat. Or maybe he's just not afraid to do what's right for his team, even if the strategy plays directly into the hands of those who hope to parlay the current chaos into an antitrust exemption that allows player income to be restricted and player mobility to be limited.