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Former Tennessee Vols head coach Lane Kiffin, now at Ole Miss, opens up about how he truly feels about Neyland Stadium
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin, who spent one season as the head of the Tennessee Vols way back in 2009, opened up this week about how he truly feels about Neyland Stadium. 

Kiffin joined This Past Weekend W/ Theo Von and he was asked which college football stadium he feels is "majestic" (to be clear, Kiffin wasn't "ranking" stadiums or anything like that). 

The former Tennessee head coach was quick to praise Neyland Stadium for the intense environment that it provides on a weekly basis in the SEC. 

"Neyland Stadium in Tennessee is amazing," said Kiffin. "It's just, like, when we would bring recruits there, it is majestic. And then at night, and there's the river and the boats. And then the intensity in there. 

"I was the head coach here at Ole Miss and we went and played at Tennessee and it was on from warm ups. Everyone was there, 100,000 people. And there was this hatred toward me. I felt like the gladiator in a movie, like they're getting ready for a thumbs down."

"They had a real conversation with me during the week about a bullet-proof vest," continued Kiffin. "Like, there's no way guys, come on. It's football. They had, like, three cops with me. They aren't going to really do that. Maybe a golf ball they'll throw at me, or a bottle. So I was walking in and I was like, 'this is awesome'....they were chanting, 'f*** Lane Kiffin'. And that actually felt kind of intense and cool, 100,000 people chanting that." 

There's definitely a special kind of energy that Neyland provides. And it's electric regardless of whether you're the home team or the visitor. 

Kiffin is one of the very few coaches that's been on both sides of that environment at its best, which gives the longtime college football coach a unique perspective. It's also clear that Kiffin greatly appreciates the intense environments in the SEC -- especially at Neyland Stadium. 

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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