In case you haven’t heard (and who are we kidding — you’ve heard), former Vols head coach Lane Kiffin is returning to Neyland Stadium on Saturday night.
Butch Jones was of course asked about Kiffin’s return on Monday and he really didn’t have much to say.
Butch Jones: "The game means everything to our program and fans because it's Alabama, not because it's Lane Kiffin"
— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) October 20, 2014
Jones followed that up by mentioning that most of Tennessee’s roster “doesn’t know who Lane Kiffin is”.
It’s incredulous to think that Tennessee’s players don’t know who Kiffin is — they do. They know the history. But that’s not the focus of the team this week and it shouldn’t be.
Jones is right that the importance of this game has nothing to do with Kiffin. The players of team 118, for the most part, weren’t recruited by Kiffin (Curt Maggitt said on Monday he was recruited “a little” by Kiffin).
This game is important because it’s Alabama. The same reason it was important before Lane Kiffin and the same reason it will be important long after Kiffin. It was very clear on Monday that the players aren’t at all concerned with Kiffin’s return, as they laughed off questions about the former Vol coach.
Reporter asks about Kiffin, all three players just stay silent, smile at each other. Then Corey Vereen says he'll "take it" (the question)
— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) October 20, 2014
Corey Vereen: "We're just focusing on playing football, not the exterior things. Lane Kiffin or whoever is coming back."
— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) October 20, 2014
Kiffin’s return is only a big deal to Vol fans.
But should it be?
Absolutely not.
Lane Kiffin left the Vols after one season to return to his roots. That’s not something that’s terribly uncommon. The guy obviously enjoyed his time in Knoxville and if Vol fans are being honest they liked him too. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been so angry when he left.
And hey, it was easy to like Kiffin at the time. He brought energy and swagger to Knoxville. He said all the right things. He even delivered a winning season (and nearly beat Alabama).
Hopefully Vol fans can quickly get past Kiffin being back in Neyland on Saturday night, because the Vols have more pressing concerns. Like how do they stop a Bama offense that just topped 50 points against Texas A&M, or how do they keep Justin Worley from ending up in an ambulance.
Those are the things that will decide the game, not the fact that Lane Kiffin spent one season on Rocky Top.