Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin talks return to Tennessee, real estate

Spending time with eight colleges and two professional teams over his coaching career, Lane Kiffin has become accustomed to returns. While the 12-year gap between head coaching appearances in Knoxville, Tennessee mean little to the head coach, fans will likely bring an added ferocity on Saturday.

During his Monday press conference, Kiffin addressed his return to Neyland Stadium and whether there’s added pressure from the opposing fans.

“I would think that, I think you would think that would normally be the case,” said Kiffin. “But there’s two things here: One, it’s a long time ago, and two – we’ve done this thing.”

He continued: “Since USC I’ve gone and played against USC, I’ve played against Tennessee, I’ve played against Alabama. So it’s not like all the sudden your going ‘hey. All the sudden you’re going back to a place coach too.’ And again, I went there twice at Alabama.”

After starting the season 4-1, the Rebels have moved to No. 13 in the country. Last week’s 52-51 thriller against Arkansas turned heads after a flop against Alabama the previous week. Looking to keep pace in the SEC West, they now have a chance to make things interesting. Ole Miss travels to Tennessee on Saturday, playing at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Lane Kiffin on real estate

After breaking down his return, Lane Kiffin paid a massive compliment to the city of Knoxville. Not only did he compliment the area, but he also listed it as his favorite. Despite spending just one season at Tennessee, he clearly grew fond of the city’s atmosphere quickly.

“I said in some article last week about houses and where you lived – they asked about houses and where you’ve lived – then they asked what was your favorite house and I said the house in Knoxville,” Kiffin explained. “Then they said ‘why?’ and I said, ‘it’s a great house and a great setup with the river, but the people – we really enjoyed the people there – still in contact with a number of them.”

After a follow-up question about Kiffin’s postgame agenda in Knoxville, perhaps out into town, the Ole Miss coach laughed and shook off the idea.

“Yeah, that won’t happen,” Kiffin said with laugher from the media. “I don’t think that’s probably a good idea.”

Despite his affinity for Knoxville, the decision to skip the scenery is probably best for Lane Kiffin, regardless of the result on Saturday.