Lane Kiffin Was Advised to Wear a Bulletproof Vest During Return to Tennessee

Lane Kiffin left Tennessee to take the USC job. That choice and the way he handled it angered many Volunteers fans. Tensions were still high in 2014, when Kiffin returned to Knoxville with Alabama.

How high?

On Marty Smith’s ESPN podcast, Kiffin revealed that local security recommended he wear a bulletproof vest to ensure his safety.

"“It’s crazy. They were literally talking about like — from the bus in — a bulletproof vest. I’m like, ‘Come on, guys. This is football.’ They said, ‘No, really.’ They had security with me the whole way, even walking on the field and stuff like that,” he said. “I’m just like ‘I’m not wearing a vest, guys. All right?’ That’s a little bit over the top. It was all in fun. There was a lot of mean words said — four-letter words. That speaks of Tennessee’s fans, just how passionate they are. I think Phillip Fulmer said it the other day, ‘We have the most passionate fans in the country.’”"

This is yet another reminder that there is nothing — and I mean nothing — more important than college football. Credit Kiffin for somehow putting a positive spin on the situation. No one can disagree that fear of public murder indicates great passion.