Lane Kiffin dominated the headlines of college football rivalry weekend just a few short days ago, with his highly talked-about and highly dramatic move from Ole Miss to LSU before the Rebels’ run in the 2025 College Football Playoffs. With signing day starting on Wednesday, Kiffin has already begun building his first roster with the Tigers and will surely add more high-level pieces to his team when the transfer portal opens up in January.
From a Tennessee perspective, Kiffin’s arrival at LSU makes for a big additional storyline to the Vols’ upcoming football season. With the new nine-game conference schedule that the SEC is implementing in the 2026 season, the Tigers are set for a road trip to Neyland Stadium to take on Josh Heupel’s Volunteers at some point next year. That means that there’s another return trip to Knoxville for Kiffin on the immediate horizon.
Another Kiffin return to Knoxville was inevitable with the new scheduling format. Ole Miss is set to play at Neyland Stadium in 2027, with the Vols playing in Oxford in 2029. But Kiffin’s move to LSU directly moves up his timeline to return to Knoxville with the Vols hosting the Tigers in 2026.
Next year’s 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 was head coach at Ole Miss when the Rebels beat Tennessee in Josh Heupel’s inaugural season in 2021. That was the infamous game with the mustard bottles and the bright yellow golf ball.
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Kiffin will be one of two former Tennessee coaches returning to Knoxville next season. Former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh was recently named the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, who are set to play their first game in Neyland Stadium since 2013 next year.
Additionally, Kiffin and Golesh will be two of four newly appointed SEC head coaches on Tennessee’s schedule next year. The Vols will also play Ryan Silverfield’s Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville and Will Stein’s Kentucky Wildcats in Knoxville.
Tennessee’s 2026 SEC games include: at Arkansas, at South Carolina, vs Auburn, vs Alabama, vs Kentucky, vs LSU, vs Texas, at Texas A&M, and at Vanderbilt. The dates are unknown at this time.
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