Lane Kiffin made headlines on November 30 when he walked away from Ole Miss-right in the middle of the College Football Playoff. It was a move that stunned the college football world.
Sure, coaching changes happen all the time, but this one hit differently. This wasn’t a coach leaving after a bowl game or quietly departing in the offseason.
This was mid-playoff, with players still chasing a national title. And yet, the reaction?
Practically crickets.
That silence didn’t sit right with some, including college football analyst Josh Pate, who took to social media to highlight what he saw as a glaring double standard. Pate retweeted attorney Darren Heitner’s post on January 23, which called out the lack of criticism surrounding Kiffin’s exit.
Heitner’s point was blunt: when a coach like Kiffin leaves during the most critical stretch of the season, it gets chalked up to “business.” But when a 20-year-old player makes a similar move-transferring schools or opting out for the draft-they’re often met with backlash and moral outrage.
Pate echoed that sentiment, writing, “Yes…my favorite part about Lane leaving Ole Miss was the lack of moral outrage anywhere.” The message was clear: the system holds players and coaches to two very different standards.
Kiffin’s departure didn’t spark a media firestorm or waves of criticism. Instead, it was largely accepted as a strategic career move.
Meanwhile, young athletes making similar decisions are often painted as selfish or disloyal.
And while the conversation around fairness raged on, Kiffin wasted no time getting to work in Baton Rouge. Since taking over at LSU, he’s been relentless in reshaping the Tigers’ roster.
He landed a top-15 recruiting class for 2026, headlined by five-star talents Lamar Brown and Richard Anderson. But it’s in the transfer portal where Kiffin has really flexed his muscle.
LSU now boasts the No. 1 transfer portal class in the country, with 41 players signed. That includes eight players ranked in the national top 100.
Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt checks in at No. 1 overall, while former Ole Miss defender Princewill Umanmielen ranks fifth. Yes, Kiffin even brought over three players from the very Ole Miss roster he left behind.
The irony writes itself.
Kiffin, never one to shy away from bold statements, believes he’s building something unprecedented. On Monday, he called this group “the best portal class in the history of college football,” adding, “That’s still… there’s a lot of work to do once they get here. But to assemble that talent, you could not do that anywhere else.”
He’s already embraced the nickname “portal king,” and with LSU’s resources behind him, he believes he’s operating on a level few can match.
But the work isn’t done. LSU is still in pursuit of offensive lineman Jordan Seaton-the top tackle in the portal-who’s reportedly seeking a deal worth around $4 million. Oregon and Miami are also in the mix, but LSU is making a strong push to land him.
Kiffin has already overhauled the quarterback room, revamped the wide receiver group, and retooled the defensive line. This is not a tweak; it’s a full-scale rebuild.
And while Kiffin’s vision for LSU is clear, the backdrop of his departure from Ole Miss still lingers. It’s a reminder of the evolving landscape of college football-where loyalty is fluid, the portal is king, and the line between business and betrayal is often in the eye of the beholder.
As Kiffin continues to stack talent in Baton Rouge, the question isn’t whether he can build a powerhouse. It’s whether the same grace he received will ever be extended to the players making the same kinds of moves.