Lane Kiffin unleashes on negative impact transfer rules have on team chemistry

As Lane Kiffin and other coaches across the country settle in for training camp, they’re starting to build team chemistry. Teams’ full rosters are now in the building to get ready for the season and integrate new players into the scheme.

New rules allow teams to practice more, Kiffin said. However, the Ole Miss coach also pointed out the impact the amount of player movement has on chemistry in the locker room.

Kiffin compared the current practice rules to OTAs in the NFL, which he said allows for more practices. That said, he lamented the state of the sport with the amount of transfers with two portal windows, creating for a great amount of roster turnover.

“I think that unfortunately, the world we’re in, it is not good,” Kiffin told reporters Tuesday at his opening press conference. “And I’m not up here to gripe. I didn’t start with this or anything. It’s not a good system, and it’s not good for college football. Professional sports don’t have this amount of turnover on a roster. Not even close.

“So to do it in college – and you’re just on your third fourth school. You don’t really care about the school – you didn’t pick it. You didn’t grow up wanting to play there. That’s not really good. It is what it is.”

Changes could be coming to the transfer portal, though, when the NCAA Division I Board of Directors meets via video conference next week. The group is expected to vote on a new governance model, and On3’s Pete Nakos reported a committee could vote to introduce a proposal to change the transfer portal before it opens at the end of the calendar year.

Coaches across the country have called for one transfer window, and Lane Kiffin acknowledged the two windows currently in place. He not only cited the impact it has in the locker room, but also on the amount of passion for the game.

“All coaches, I’m sure, are just trying to maximize the situation that they’re in,” Kiffin said. “But it’s not good for college football, it’s not good for locker rooms and it’s obviously not very good for chemistry. I don’t think it’s very good for the passion of college football. There are free agents two times a year and a number of guys just going wherever to get the most money and not having any care for where they’re playing.”