Lane Kiffin Explains His "Dark Side Of Being The Villain" Message To LSU Players

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin explained the message posted inside the Tigers' football operations building on Monday following Saturday's 31-13 loss to Alabama.

The message, titled "WELCOME TO LSU AND THE DARK SIDE OF BEING THE VILLAIN," warned players about the criticism and outside noise that comes with losing at LSU.

During his Monday press conference, Kiffin was asked why he felt it was important to deliver that message to his team.

"I just spent time with them today discussing that, you know, hey, you can't listen to noise," Kiffin said. "And one of the hardest things to do is letting go of the previous outcome. That's hard both ways. You've got to let go of good, too."

Kiffin explained that the criticism following a loss can quickly turn into questions about everything surrounding the program, including individual playing time and coaching decisions.

"I just said, here it comes. You know, this is going to be the 'everything we do is wrong' noise. This is what happens when you lose. And the basketball hoop's stupid, and shouldn't have a little kid on the smoke machine. I just know all that's what comes when you lose. And when you win, it's all cool."

While Kiffin wants his players to block out the outside noise, he also acknowledged that Saturday's performance was unacceptable.

"The loss at Tiger Stadium, yeah, that's bad. And I feel bad for our fans, for the state," Kiffin said. "You know, we're supposed to win when we come here. We're certainly not supposed to score 13 points in a game, ever."

Kiffin ended his answer by saying that losing at home by multiple scores is not the standard he expects to establish at LSU.

"That's not the expectations we have, what we're used to, and not what it's going to be like here."

LSU (6-3) hosts No. 8 Texas (7-2) this Saturday at Tiger Stadium in a must-win matchup for the Tigers to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.