Lane Kiffin and Tennessee go together like oil and water after his exit many years ago. Despite all the time away from Knoxville, there is a special type of disdain for Kiffin in the city and at Neyland Stadium. This animosity has even boiled over to Josh Heupel and the Vols during this offseason.
Thinking the Vols won't make big strides in 2026 is ignoring these facts
When Tennessee was recruiting Sam Leavitt, Lane Kiffin got on a plane and made his way over to Knoxville before Leavitt went to Miami to meet with him. When LSU eventually won their sweepstakes in typical Kiffin fashion, he took to social media to troll the Vols about his team winning out on Leavitt. Kiffin also snagged former Vol edge rusher Jordan Ross out of the portal.
At SEC media days, Heupel didn't hold back when he was asked about Kiffin coming back to Knoxville for a second time.
"I certainly hope that our fans haven't cooled off, whether it's the grocery stores stocked up on mustard, or the sportis stores that they've got reinforcements on the golf balls, hopefully Knoxville is ready for his arrival"
Finally some fire from SEC Media Days on Day 1!
— Michael Cauble (@Cauble) July 20, 2026
"I certainly hope that our fans haven't cooled off, whether it's the grocery stores stocked up on mustard, or the sportis stores that they've got reinforcements on the golf balls, hopefully Knoxville is ready for his arrival"… pic.twitter.com/DQiqYEKpCc
Josh Heupel throws some major shade
No pun intended, but Heupel just threw a fastball right at Kiffin. The last time he was in Knoxville, Tennessee fans threw plenty of things at Kiffin, making sure to welcome the former Tennessee coach warmly. Heupel doesn't seem to want anything to change the next time Kiffin is in Knoxville. It seems like Heupel is beginning to get fed up with Kiffin and his antics, or else he wouldn't have said anything.
It feels like 99% of the time when a coach is asked about something like this, they resort to standard coaching jargon about how the team needs to be ready to play and how they have a lot of respect for the other program. However, that wasn't the case today. The way Heupel said it was dead serious. He meant what he said, and you can tell he's fired up with the nonsense that Kiffin has been serving.
I wouldn't be shocked at all if Kiffin claps back at Heupel, and this rivalry continues. But for now, Heupel has made it clear that on how he feels about Kiffin. The LSU game could be make or break for the Vols and their playoff hopes, so Tennessee fans need to be as loud and rowdy as possible come late November.
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