TRAGEDY:VOL coach is very angry and announces his resignation today After facing…
A yellow legal pad in hand and a blank look on his face, Lane Kiffin stood in a dimly lit hallway waiting to deliver his parting remarks at a hurriedly scheduled press conference on the University of Tennessee campus.
Students were gathering outside, fuming. Players, perplexed, looked for solutions. And in one of the oddest off-field incidents in recent college football history, a mattress was set ablaze in the street.
On January 12, 2010, around ten o’clock at night. However, you’ve heard that tale previously.
Years later, the unusual incident in the news conference room that resulted in an iconic YouTube video and the chaotic moments in the media leading up to and following Kiffin’s decision to leave Tennessee for Southern California might still be fascinating.
Some of the reporters who covered his shocking exit are still around Knoxville, but many have moved on. Their personal stories behind the ones they reported provide a unique angle to the night Tennessee fans will never forget.
“As soon as people figure out that I covered that season at Tennessee, (the night Kiffin left) is all they want to know about,” said Austin Ward, former Tennessee football beat reporter for Knox News.
