Lane Kiffin has both Tennessee fans and LSU fans talking on social media with a simple post on Sunday afternoon. While quote-tweeting a video from the San Francisco Giants of former UT Baseball coach Tony Vitello meeting fans in The Bay, Kiffin posted: “Love some Tony V!!!!”
Love some Tony V!!!! https://t.co/F8RUeqTifr
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 18, 2026
The post caught the attention of Vol fans in Knoxville and his own Tigers fans, who have had plenty of competitive run-ins with Vitello over the last handful of years.
“Ima let you slide, Coach. You’ve only been here for a month, but just know the state of Louisiana don’t like Tony V,” one LSU fan responded to their head football coach.
“Luckily you’re still in the grace period,” another Tiger fan wrote. “Sign (Jordan) Seaton and we’ll all choose to forget this post.”
“I think you misspelled Jay Johnson! Come on coach, we love ya, but you’re about quickly find out that LSU fans don’t take kindly to disrespect of our baseball king! Tony V wishes he could be Jay!” another LSU commenter wrote.
The post ended up gaining a quarter of a million views and more than 200 comments in its first 18 hours of being posted.
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“Tennesseeans don’t care what you think about Tony V,” one Tennessee commenter wrote. “He was our coach. You settled for tossing out that golf ball at an OM game. Back off.”
In May 2022, the following spring after the Tennessee-Ole Miss football incident with the infamous golf ball and mustard bottle situation, the Volunteers’ baseball team traveled to Oxford for a weekend series with the Rebels.
Ole Miss brought out then-football coach Lane Kiffin for the first pitch, who chose to have some fun with the incident from the previous season by throwing out a golf ball for the ceremonial toss instead of a baseball. The Rebels’ social media account continued to play into it, bringing up the mustard bottle.
Couldn’t find a bottle of mustard, @Lane_Kiffin? 😉#HottyToddy 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/vakQBDUZPM
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) March 25, 2022
Tennessee had its fun with the situation, too. The Vols took an early 6-0 lead on the Rebels on a Jared Dickey home run in the second inning. As Dickey crossed the plane and jogged to the dugout to be swarmed by his teammates, you could see a Tennessee player toss him a mustard bottle right before the celebration and the donning of the fur jacket.
Home Run No. 60 on the year.
Yes, we said SIXTY!
📺 https://t.co/QXTiNxHEiq#GBO // #OTH // #BeatOleMiss pic.twitter.com/W4wR1W9FAW
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 26, 2022
That’s the Ole Miss side of things, though, and Kiffin is gone from Oxford. Tennessee has also had its competitive run-ins with LSU over the last few years with both programs being near or at the top of the sport.
Tony Vitello went 12-9 against the Tigers during his time in Knoxville. Some of the notable moments include the Vols’ two-game sweep of the Tigers during the 2021 Knoxville Super Regional, LSU eliminating Tennessee from Omaha in 2023, Tennessee’s sweep of LSU in Knoxville in 2024, and a 2-0 record against the Tigers in the SEC Tournament.
Tennessee will host Lane Kiffin’s inaugural LSU football team next season in Neyland Stadium as part of the Vols’ 2026 campaign. The game will be played in Knoxville on Saturday, Nov. 21.
The game between Tennessee and LSU will be Kiffin’s fourth trip to Knoxville since departing as UT’s head coach in 2009. He was the offensive coordinator for Alabama during games in 2014 and 2016, both Crimson Tide wins, and head coach during the Rebels’ win in 2021. This will be the third team overall that Kiffin has helped lead into Neyland Stadium since his departure.
Make sure to stock up on popcorn early.
