Lane Kiffin Details The Standard He’s Trying To Build At LSU

Lane Kiffin has repeatedly talked about elevating the standard at LSU, and on Sunday, he explained exactly what he means by it.

Kiffin said the mentality dates back to his time working under Nick Saban at Alabama, where he learned that building a championship-level program requires more than simply talking about high expectations.

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"There used to be a saying at other schools, ‘We want to be like Alabama, and we’re committed like Alabama, and we do everything Alabama does.’ And you say that—you do everything Alabama does... until you have to do it."

“And you’ve got to make sure that you put the resources in certain areas, in nutrition and player development and coaching staff and personnel and all those things. So that’s easy to say. It’s not easy to do."

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But Kiffin said the standard also comes down to accountability throughout the entire program.

He revealed that despite LSU's 63-14 win over McNeese on Saturday, he ripped into the team afterward over several late mistakes, including defensive breakdowns and backup quarterbacks not being ready to enter the game.

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“I ripped them after the game about some things at the end. And I said, ‘I’ve got to get this off my chest, man. We’ve got a corner who lets the ball outside for a long touchdown. We’ve got another safety who lets the ball outside for another touchdown play. We’ve got two quarterbacks that aren’t ready to go in the game, and that’s not acceptable.’

“It doesn’t matter what string you are. That’s the standards of what we expect you to be like in this program, whether you’re a coach, a player, whether you work the front desk downstairs, whatever it is."

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Kiffin added that the mindset he developed under Saban has stayed with him throughout his coaching career as he continues trying to establish those same expectations at LSU.