Tennessee will see two former coaches coming to Neyland Stadium as foes in 2026

What a wild and wacky day across the college football landscape on Sunday. The Lane Kiffin fiasco moved quickly and finally ended on Sunday, with Kiffin accepting the head coaching gig at LSU and leaving Ole Miss immediately.

Also, former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh is leaving Tampa and heading for the plains, picking Auburn over Arkansas.

Vol fans will be seeing both up close and personally next fall inside Neyland Stadium. Both Auburn and LSU are among Tennessee’s list of 2026 SEC opponents that are coming to Knoxville next season. The others are Alabama, Kentucky, and Texas.

That should make for some very interesting fodder for Vol fans those weekends. I love Auburn for Golesh. What he did in Tampa was nothing short of miraculous. He took a one-win program in 2022 and generated winning seasons each year he was there, including 9-3 this year. That’s really tough to do. I think he’ll do well at Auburn, but after watching the Iron Bowl last night and just how bumbling the Tigers were, he’s got his work cut out for him.

Ole Miss fans got the full Lane Kiffin experience that Vol fans warned Ole Miss fans about on social media for years, ditching the program and throwing the blame on the Ole Miss administration for not letting him finish out the season. And, of course, holding everyone hostage while he worked behind the scenes to leave his College Football Playoff program and potentially bring staff with him. Oh, those future Ole Miss-LSU games are going to be spicy.

And it should be spicy when Tennessee hosts the Tigers next season. The reception was not warm back in 2021 when he made his return. And with the success he’s had and the program he’s with now, it will be a scene when he walks back into Neyland Stadium.