HC Lane Kiffin’s first week at LSU has been nothing short of chaotic. The new Tigers head coach is dealing with assembling a staff, flipping recruits, and figuring out his future QB. But while everyone’s focused on the quarterback drama, Kiffin is facing another massive challenge that haunted him at Ole Miss heading into the 2025 season. Now it has followed him to Baton Rouge. He has to rebuild the defensive line from scratch.​

Wilson Alexander, who covers LSU closely, laid out the situation perfectly in a recent tweet. “With Ahmad Breaux entering the transfer portal, LSU has to replace six of its top seven snap-getters along the defensive line. There’s young talent, but LSU will probably go after some experienced transfers there.”

Ahmad Breaux, a two-year contributor who recorded 19 tackles and half a sack this past season, announced his intention to enter the transfer portal on December 7. He had been reunited this year with his high school coach from Ruston, Louisiana, former LSU defensive lineman Kyle Williams, who served as the Tigers’ defensive line coach for the 2025 season. Breaux’s exit seems amicable as he reposted a positive farewell message from his mom. 

“LSU fans, you were the best part. Thank you ALL for the support you have shown my kid throughout his time here at LSU!! He’s moving on, but will forever be grateful for the opportunity to have played at Death Valley.”

He became the second defensive player to make his plans known. His departure is just the latest in what’s become a full-scale overhaul of LSU’s defensive front.​

Now six of LSU’s top seven snap-getters along the defensive line need to be replaced. Players like Bernard Gooden and other defensive pieces like Jack Pyburn and Patrick Payton will not be playing due to ineligibility. The rebuild requires immediate action. The transfer portal opens January 2 and runs through January 16 under the NCAA’s new consolidated window, giving Lane Kiffin just over two weeks to identify and land experienced replacements.

Kiffin navigated this exact scenario at Ole Miss heading into the 2024 season. The Rebels lost significant talent from their defensive line to the NFL Draft in April 2025. Players like defensive tackle Walter Nolen, edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, defensive tackle J.J. Pegues, and linebacker Jared Ivey were the core of Ole Miss’ defense. It left massive holes that needed to be filled through recruiting and the transfer portal. The challenge was finding players who could step in immediately and maintain the level of play that had made Ole Miss’s defense effective.

Kiffin attacked the problem aggressively through the portal. He brought in experienced transfers like #1-ranked edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen and five-star edge rusher Da’Shawn Womack, who could contribute right away rather than relying solely on high school recruits or developmental players.

The results speak for themselves. Ole Miss went 11-1 in the 2025 regular season and earned a College Football Playoff spot. The defensive line, despite losing so much talent, held up well enough for the Rebels to become one of the nation’s most complete teams. 

The good news for LSU fans is that Kiffin has demonstrated he can overcome this challenge. The bad news is that he’s working on a much tighter timeline at LSU. And he’s starting from zero in terms of relationships with these players and understanding what he’s inherited. Kiffin’s first major test at LSU won’t be on game day. It’ll be whether he can replicate the portal success he had at Ole Miss and rebuild this defensive line before spring practice starts. It’s the same problem, just a different shade of purple and gold.​

Kiffin has transfer portal confidence

If there’s one thing Lane Kiffin isn’t worried about at LSU, it’s his ability to dominate the transfer portal. During his introductory press conference last week, Kiffin made it crystal clear that he views the January portal window as his golden opportunity to fill roster gaps and build a championship-caliber team immediately.

 “Then go to the portal, which I have zero concern about the interest of players with that, because I know what the interest was of players nationally to come play for us where we were just at, and now when you put that with this stadium and with that logo, I mean, makes me want to get on the phone right now, but the portal is not open,” Kiffin said. 

You can practically feel his excitement radiating. The confidence isn’t unfounded either. Kiffin has built a reputation as one of the nation’s best portal evaluators. He bought in 25 transfers before the 2025 season at Ole Miss and hit on almost every single one.​

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Kiffin has built entire position groups through the portal at Ole Miss, transforming the defense from a liability into a strength. Now at LSU, with the Tiger Stadium mystique and the purple-and-gold brand behind him, Kiffin believes he’ll be even more attractive to top portal targets than he was in Oxford. The portal officially opens on January 2 and runs through January 16. And based on the needs at quarterback, defensive line, and linebacker, Kiffin’s going to be extremely busy making those phone calls he’s been itching to make.