Lane Kiffin has never been shy about pushing the edges of college football, and now he’s looking far beyond the transfer portal. In the world the SEC is walking into in 2026, LSU is trying to pull players back out of professional football, and Kiffin is acting like if a judge clears them, they’re fair game.
That’s where the latest mess begins: Kiffin and LSU want to strengthen their $50 million roster with a pair of late additions from the pro ranks, while the players are suing for eligibility. On Thursday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and the league said no pros, period. Then Friday brought a ruling in Baton Rouge that shut that down.
So the question hanging over the league now is simple enough: what comes next?
There’s already been plenty of hand-wringing around the SEC, but Kiffin doesn’t seem interested in waiting for everyone else to catch up. If the players are available, he’s recruiting them. That’s the operating principle here, and it’s not exactly subtle.
The whole thing has the feel of a league-wide snake pit, which is exactly the kind of image Joe Goodman leaned into in his Sunday column, “With Kiffin ready to strike, Alabama and Auburn can’t play nice.” One of the more vivid details in his piece came from an Arkansas high school player who finished a full hour of practice before discovering a two-foot venomous snake in his helmet.
It’s a bizarre story, but it fits the moment. College football is back, the preseason is over, and the SEC is dealing with a problem that feels equal parts legal fight and wild-animal metaphor.
Sankey is trying to keep order. Kiffin, meanwhile, is acting like the fence is already open.
The league’s latest fight also brings the conversation back to Nick Saban, because it always does. The question is what Saban would have done if he were still coaching in this kind of climate.
The answer, at least as framed here, is that he would have done exactly what he always did: hunt for every edge, every loophole, every advantage. He would publicly condemn the idea of former pros returning to college, sure. But behind the scenes, he’d be on the phone right now trying to land the best players available.
Kiffin learned from the best.
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