By Mark Pszonak
Tennessee fans have gone through a lot since Friday. Luckily for them, they were able to gather on Saturday at the annual Orange & White Spring Game to vent and try to figure out what just happened. One popular take by fans was caught by WBIR sports anchor Camille Gear:
"He's Lane Kiffin'd us." #Vols fans react to Quarterback Nico Iamaleava leaving the Tennessee program. pic.twitter.com/5Aw2q1Cxvj
— Camille Gear (@CamilleGearTV) April 12, 2025
The Lane Kiffin situation back in January of 2010 is not something that Tennessee fans take lightly. If anyone needs a reminder, that is when Kiffin abruptly left the head coaching job with the Vols to become the head coach at USC. Not surprisingly, the reaction that came out of Knoxville was full of anger. Having fans compare that situation to what just happened with Nico Iamaleava says a great deal.
“What Nico’s done to us, he Lane Kiffin’d us,” said a fan before the Orange & White game. “He left in the middle of the night looking for a sweeter deal.”
There are similarities between Kiffin and Iamaleava. But now Tennessee fans have to hope and pray that the initial response this time is better than it was 15 years ago when the Vols hired Derek Dooley to replace Kiffin. At least for now there seems to be optimism.
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“I really think Tennessee football will come away from this a better team,” said the fan.
Time will only tell if this is true.
