How Lane Kiffin took a jab at Tennessee football for avoiding bowl ban in NCAA case

NASHVILLE — Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin was leaning toward a no-comment when asked about the recent verdict announced in Tennessee's NCAA recruiting scandal, but he found a way to take a sarcastic jab at his former employer while speaking at 2023 SEC Media Days on Thursday.

"I got a lot of thoughts on that case and the case at USC and the case at Tennessee and the penalties and all that," Kiffin said. "I'm not really going to get into that. We're here to talk about the Ole Miss team. You know, happy for Coach (Josh) Heupel. I read where he was ecstatic about the penalties and the $8 million fine. So that kind of probably tells you about how severe the penalties are in their eyes. I'm happy for them that they don't have to go through what we went through. So good for them."

Kiffin was Tennessee's coach in 2009 when he led the Vols to a 7-6 record and a loss in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. He left for USC after one season in Knoxville.

When Kiffin arrived at USC in 2010, he walked into a two-year bowl ban and significant scholarship restrictions after a prolonged investigation into running back Reggie Bush receiving financial benefits during the Pete Carroll era. The Trojans went 18-7 in his first two seasons. In 2011, they won the Pac-12 South title but couldn't participate in the conference championship game.

The benefits Bush received would have been legal in the NIL era, according to CBS Sports.

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The Vols, under fired coach Jeremy Pruitt, avoided a bowl ban in the fallout of the investigation after "exemplary cooperation" from the university, which self-imposed its own scholarship reductions and presented new information to the NCAA as a result of its own investigation. Details from the findings showed Tennessee gave financial benefits for recruits and committed more than 200 violations during his three-season tenure.

Pruitt was fired for cause in January 2021, along with nine other staff members, and received a six-year show-cause penalty Friday when the NCAA released its verdict in the case. A show-cause effectively bans Pruitt from coaching during the length of the penalty.

Kiffin didn't return to the SEC as a head coach until 2020 when he was hired by Ole Miss. In 2021, he led the Rebels to a win against the Vols − his first trip back to Knoxville as an SEC head coach. He was met with a chorus of distaste from the crowd, including a golf ball thrown at him.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin takes jab at Tennessee football for avoiding bowl ban