What Ole Miss football's Lane Kiffin said about Tennessee basketball vs FAU in Sweet 16
OXFORD — If Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin has a rooting interest when two of his former employers meet in the March Madness Sweet 16, he isn't tipping his hand.
Asked whether he'd be pulling for Tennessee or FAU when those two programs play on Thursday (8 p.m., TBS) with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line, Kiffin said he hadn't gotten a chance to watch much of the NCAA Tournament to this point.
He did say, though, that he knows FAU coach Dusty May, and has been impressed with his work with the Owls. Kiffin and May overlapped at FAU, with May arriving in 2018. Kiffin was hired away from FAU by Ole Miss following the 2019 football season. May has yet to have a losing season with the Owls, and has led them to a 33-3 record and their first Sweet 16 appearance this season.
"He was a really energetic young coach," Kiffin said. "And obviously he's done an amazing job there."
Kiffin's first head coaching job came at Tennessee, where he went 7-6 in 2009 before departing for USC.
After spending time on Nick Saban's Alabama staff as an offensive coordinator, Kiffin was hired by FAU in 2017. He compiled a 27-13 record with the Owls and won a conference title in 2019.
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David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss coach on Tennessee vs FAU in March Madness
