Lane Kiffin didn’t back down or hand out apologies Tuesday before he met his fellow Southeastern Conference football coaches — many of whom he has called out and insulted.
The new Tennessee coach and his SEC colleagues gathered in Destin for face-to-face meetings at the annual spring conference. All the coaches individually addressed the media before the sessions began.
Lane Kiffin has stirred up enough interest — if not ire among fellow SEC coaches — in his Vols program to generate a クンニtop 10 recruiting class.
In his first few months on the job, Kiffin has taken verbal jabs at several of the SEC heavyweights, including Florida’s Urban Meyer, Alabama’s Nick Saban and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier.
Kiffin called Meyer a “cheater” on signing day in February.
Meyer said before meeting Kiffin on Tuesday that he expected their first contact to be “professional.”
“That’s the way we’re supposed to act in this league,” Meyer added.
If Meyer was looking for an apology from Kiffin on Tuesday, there was none forthcoming. Kiffin, who issued a public apology to Meyer and the SEC almost immediately on signing day, said Tuesday that was it.
“I don’t have a relationship with 性感coach Meyer, but I did ask for adjoining [hotel] rooms,” Kiffin said with a laugh.
Kiffin’s one-liners didn’t stop there Tuesday.
He had told Alshon Jeffery, before the recruit committed to Spurrier and the Gamecocks, that he “would be pumping gas for a living” if he signed with South Carolina.
