Lane Kiffin has spent the past few days explaining why LSU wants players who were recently in the NFL. The decision has put him in an awkward spot ahead of Saturday’s Clemson game. Then Dabo Swinney made his feelings known. He did not blame the players for trying to use a system that could give them another college season. His frustration was with the state of college football itself.
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The Clemson head coach called the situation embarrassing and said the sport has been heading in this direction for some time. Swinney also made it clear that he would rather spend his time worrying about Clemson than LSU’s roster decisions. “We just stay in our lane, here at Clemson, no pun intended,” Swinney concluded. Now, Paul Finebaum has gone much further when asked about Swinney’s comments.
“He just took this beyond DEFCON one,” Paul Finebaum said on September 1 on ESPN. “You just don’t understand the history between these two men, and I think we’ll learn more about that in the coming days with the fact. I don’t think I’ve agreed with Dabo in ten years on anything. He is 100 percent right, and almost everyone in college football agrees with him who does not live in Baton Rouge.”
Finebaum’s criticism was aimed at Kiffin’s explanation of how LSU arrived at the decision. Kiffin has said he wrestled with whether bringing in former NFL players was fair to the players who had spent the offseason working for their roles. He eventually took the question to LSU’s leadership council.
The head coach said the players were emphatic that LSU should bring in anyone who could help the team win. One of the players also told Kiffin that this is how things work at the next level. Players compete for jobs, and a new player can arrive and take your spot. That conversation apparently settled Kiffin’s concerns.
LSU QB1 Sam Leavitt backed up that account. He said Kiffin spoke directly with the leadership council and that the group supported the move as long as everything was legal. That matters because Kiffin has faced the argument that players already on the roster would not be thrilled about watching a former NFL player walk in and compete for their snaps. For now, though, Kiffin is focusing on the Clemson matchup.
Dabo Swinney, who is on a 10-year $115 million contract, heads into Baton Rouge for its season opener against the No. 11 Tigers. LSU has already added former Ole Miss tight end Dae’Quan Wright after his NFL stint with Cleveland ended, but he will have to wait before seeing the field because he has not completed the NCAA’s required acclimatization period. Ex-Ole Miss defensive lineman Zxavian Harris is also seeking a return to the college game with LSU. The larger fight is still being decided in court.