Lane Kiffin Doesn’t Regret Leaving Vols For USC

It’s been seven years since Lane Kiffin left Tennessee for the west coast. Does the former Vols head coach regret it?

Back in November former Vols assistant coach Kippy Brown suggested that Lane Kiffin still has “great feelings” for Tennessee.

That statement led some Vol fans to postulate that perhaps Kiffin regretted the way he left Tennessee.

If you think that’s the case, however, you’re quite wrong.

Kiffin recently discussed his up-and-down coaching career with Sports Illustrated. The interview is an incredibly accurate portrait of Kiffin as a person and as a coach. He’s quite candid with SI’s Pete Thamel.

In the interview Kiffin naturally address his time at Tennessee (albeit briefly).

Kiffin told Sports Illustrated that then Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton offered him more money to stay with the Vols, but he said he couldn’t turn down USC.

"Kiffin: “I can’t for the rest of my life watch USC on TV and go, ‘I turned down that job. What would it have been like?”"

According to SI, Kiffin’s only regret in leaving for the Trojans’ head coaching job was that he didn’t get more protection in his contract, due to the impending sanctions at USC.

Kiffin also mentioned that he considered his 7-5 record at Tennessee a success, saying “The SEC was as strong as it’s ever been, clearly different than it is now”.

It seems pretty obvious to me that Kiffin wouldn’t do much different in his coaching career.

Which makes me wonder how much he’s really learned during his three year exile from head coaching.

Perhaps he truly has found himself, or maybe his new employer, FAU, will find out the hard way that it’s the same old Kiffin.

Only time will tell.

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Check out the entire SI interview here, where Kiffin dishes on Nick Saban, his ex wife Layla, and USC.