The LSU Tigers head into the 2026 season with National Championship or bust expectations as they enter the Lane Kiffin era. While it may not be fair to place such high expectations on a coach in his first year on the job, hiring Lane Kiffin was a major splash, and the Tigers clearly spared no expense in letting Kiffin build his first roster.
Lane Kiffin and his staff brought in 40 new players via the Transfer Portal along with an 18 player recruiting class, bring a new wave of talent to Baton Rouge. The new coaching staff is tasked with getting all these pieces to gel, while developing the group and installing their systems which is a tough task.
Lane Kiffin's desire for a spring transfer window should raise red flags
As Spring practices around the country end, coaches are able to relax and focus on recruiting while in past years they'd now be entering a second Transfer Portal window. Most coaches are happy with the change, except Lane Kiffin told reporters that he wishes there was a spring transfer window.
"I’ve been very open about that, I wish there was another one. I’ve talked to coaches about that and coaches that have been somewhere 2-3 years feel differently because they like that they have their whole roster and they’ve evaluated the whole time. So they knew what was coming back before they knew how it fit, how the players knew you. But in your first year, yeah. I don’t think many coaches would say that, but if they were honest, they’d probably say that they wish there was one. But there isn’t."Lane Kiffin
Kiffin's point certainly makes sense as a new head coach like himself is dealing with a ton of moving pieces. LSU likely kept a bunch of players that Kiffin was willing to give a chance, but spring practices could've showed the staff that there's a reason to be concerned. Given how much Lane Kiffin and other first year coaches are learning about their team, a second window would be a big help.
The concern for LSU will be whether Lane Kiffin thinks this team is talented enough to go on a CFP run. If LSU spent to the level they did on this roster, and it's not a team capable of winning a National Championship, people are going to be upset.
LSU fans will follow Summer practices much closer now as there are some areas of concern with this roster. The Tigers are going to need to gel and quickly, as Kiffin and Company can't afford to take a shocking loss with how tough some stretches are on this schedule.
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