Alabama OC Lane Kiffin takes an apparent cheap shot at Tennessee
As you’ve probably heard by now, the relationship between Lane Kiffin and the University of Tennessee isn’t exactly good. You probably remember the night Kiffin left as the Vols’ head coach (one which involved riots, and where Lane’s father Monte was scared for his life).
Yet despite all that, it’s actually Kiffin who might have had the last laugh. Sure, the school Kiffin left Tennessee for (USC) eventually fired him, but the old Lane Train has bounced back nicely as the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama. The Tide have won two SEC titles and made two college football playoff appearances -- winning a national title last season -- in his two years on campus.
Kiffin’s time at Alabama also includes two wins over Tennessee, and he is more than willing to take verbal jabs at the Vols, including on Monday.
Kiffin tweeted a Tennessee article from Gridiron Now, with the tweet seemingly taking a direct shot to Vols fans. The headline of the article:
Tennessee loaded with top-level recruits — but they’re leaving the state
Tennessee loaded with top-level recruits -- but they're leaving the state https://t.co/gSTNhKtftJ
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) August 1, 2016
The article does mention that Alabama --- Kiffin’s new home --- has been one of the big benefactors of the Vols being unable to lock down their home state, with guys like Dont’a Hightower, Barrett Jones and others ending up in Tuscaloosa. Still, it seems like more than a coincidence that Kiffin would tweet that article, with that exact headline, about the same school he once coached.
That’s especially true when you remember that Kiffin has taken other digs, that appeared to be aimed at Tennessee. There was the time he retweeted his brother Chris, an Ole Miss assistant, after a big Rebels win over… you guessed it… Tennessee. And there was also the other time when he shared the tweet below that seemed to have little relevance to anything, other than getting under the skin of Vols fans (which as you can see by the sub-tweet below, certainly did).
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) July 5, 2016
@Lane_Kiffin pic.twitter.com/S54UOLaxbh
— FitFiftysomething (@chiutfan) July 5, 2016
@Lane_Kiffin hope you snapped that pic right before it backed over you
— Logan (@loganwtaylor) July 5, 2016
For any angry Vols fans reading this, Tennessee will get its chance for revenge when the Vols face Alabama on Oct. 15 in Knoxville.
Keep in mind, the Vols haven’t beaten Alabama since 2006, the year before Nick Saban arrived at Alabama.
The closest Tennessee has come to a victory during that stretch was a two-point loss in 2009, when the Vols were coached by, you guessed it, Lane Kiffin.