Lane Kiffin Reacts to Tweet Saying He's the Reason LSU, Ole Miss Lead CFB Transfer Portal Rankings

Lane Kiffin seemingly didn't take the bait after one fan on social media wanted to credit him for how well both LSU and Ole Miss have done in the portal.

The Tigers coach reposted the initial message with the emojis for a rat and the skull and crossbones:

Like his old boss, Nick Saban, Kiffin has made a point in the past to call out and avoid "rat poison," which refers to outside chatter that can affect his squad. In this case, it's probably tough for him to weigh in without displaying a level of false humility or slighting his old employer and former assistants.

LSU and Ole Miss sit first and second in 247Sports' transfer portal team rankings.

From a portal perspective, Kiffin's impact on the Tigers is obvious. Going back to his stint at FAU, he has made a point to be aggressive on transfers. A robust NIL budget, which can help attract outside talent, was part of LSU's pitch to him as well.

The extent to which Kiffin helped Ole Miss is a little less clear.

Sure, guiding the Rebels to a College Football Playoff berth helped them from a portal standpoint, but players are traveling to Oxford in large part because of coach Pete Golding and his current staff.

The CFP victories over Tulane and Georgia, which came after Kiffin's exit, also provided a sign that Ole Miss will remain a serious threat moving forward.

Because they have so much freedom of movement, college athletes are more pragmatic than ever. For as much as Kiffin did to lay the groundwork and establish a baseline culture, players wouldn't commit to the Rebels if they didn't believe in Golding.