Riots broke out across the University of Tennessee campus last night after news that Lane Kiffin was leaving the Vols after just one season as head coach of the football team.
The news was not received well by fans, who were passionate and vocal in expressing their anger over Kiffin’s departure. Students congregated on campus, defacing the legendary Tennessee Rock, burning T-shirts and a mattress, while chanting “F— you Kiffin.”
According to campus police, the crowd was manageable and didn’t get out of control. “We asked them to move and they moved, so you can’t say they were an unruly crowd,” said UT Police Department Capt. Keith Lambert.
In an impromptu press conference last night, Kiffin said “This was not an easy decision…This is something that happens very quick. We’ve been here 14 months, and the support has been unbelievable here. I really believe the only place I would have left here to go was Southern California.”
University of Tennessee football players were stunned to learn of Kiffin’s departure via ESPN and word of mouth. Calls to Kiffin from the players were not answered or returned.
Kiffin has left the football program in a lurch, with just three weeks until national signing day.
Kiffin will take his father and defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, and assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron to Southern Cal with him.
Wide receivers coach Kippy Brown, who joined the staff less than four weeks ago, has been named interim head coach at Tennessee.
View riot photos and video below (WARNING: PICTURES AND VIDEO CONTAIN INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE):