Never one to mince words, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin tore into college football’s end-of-season schedule on Tuesday.
Unlike on most other occasions, this time, Kiffin had a salient point.
Kiffin took issue with the transfer portal opening while the 2024 season is ongoing.
“We just try to make the best of the situations,” Kiffin said. (h/t ESPN)
“It really is a dumb system,” he added.
The NCAA’s transfer portal officially opened on Monday, more than a month before the season ends on Jan. 20 with the College Football Playoff national championship game.
“Just think if the NFL was getting ready for the AFC, NFC playoffs, postseason, and players are in free agency already,” Kiffin said.
With the portal open, most programs outside of the CFP will look drastically different from what they looked like during the season.
Ole Miss’ Gator Bowl opponent Duke, for example, is without 2024 starting quarterback Maalik Murphy after he entered the portal. Such roster turnover is bad for the sport from a spectator’s vantage point. After all, fans want to see their team’s best players, not backups.
It also creates a headache for coaches. It’s no wonder that several, including Alabama defensive coaches Kane Wommack and Maurice Linguist, Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, left head coaching gigs for coordinator roles.
“It’s a really poor system, but we just to manage the best we can through it, and hopefully someday it’ll get fixed,” Kiffin added.
This isn’t the first time Kiffin has voiced displeasure with college football officials this season.
In October, he whined about LSU getting multiple night games at storied Tiger Stadium at the expense of Ole Miss.