LSU coach Lane Kiffin has sought to change the culture in Baton Rouge since he was appointed the Tigers’ head coach on Nov. 30, 2025. After presiding over an exodus from the team and bringing in a top-rated 2026 portal class, Kiffin has welcomed back LSU alumni to Baton Rouge to help with the transition.
While speaking to reporters after spring practice on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, Kiffin revealed his joy at having former LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell in Baton Rouge for the Tigers’ training session. He welcomed back LSU alumni to the team’s facilities to interact with the players.
Lane Kiffin Welcomes LSU Alumni Back to Baton Rouge
“Our building’s open to former players and talked to a number of them. Some of them have come around,” Kiffin said. “I’ve reached out to others to make sure that they understood that. This is the place they put together and built. So it was really neat to see Jamarcus. I had missed him. He was here one time when I first got here.
“It continues to amaze me at life that you think you have your life figured out when you’re younger and you have no idea what’s going to happen. I was just thinking when I saw him today and I sent Tee Martin over to him today. Who would have thought? It was probably about 18 years ago or something like that.”
When Kiffin was the Oakland Raiders coach between 2007 and 2008, the NFL franchise selected Russell with the No. 1 overall pick during the 2007 NFL Draft despite the coach’s reluctance to draft him. Instead, Kiffin preferred to select former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets star Calvin Johnson, who was picked No. 2 by the Detroit Lions.
Kiffin Corrects Brian Kelly’s Alumni Mistake
After he was fired on Oct. 27, 2025, coach Brian Kelly was accused by former Tigers star Breiden Fehoko of stonewalling Tigers alumni from accessing the program, unlike Kiffin’s open-door approach.
“People quoted me saying, ‘I don’t know what I’m talking about’ when I said BK didn’t want alumni around,” Fehoko explained. “Everyone thinks this is about going to games on Saturday nights in Death Valley lol, no. This is about the offseason of having your past guys around the team in a workout environment.”
The Kiffin era has been well received by both current and former players, signaling a departure from the former coach’s tenure, which was characterized by tension with LSU’s alumni.
