Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin relived his experience returning to the unfriendly confines of Neyland Stadium to play Tennessee in 2021 on a podcast episode with Theo Von.

During the appearance, he talked about the advice he got leading up to the game, the experience of fans hurling objects in his direction and more.

Here's what he said.

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The full interview with Lane Kiffin is below. Profanity is used in the episode.

With Kiffin deciding to leave Tennessee for the head coaching job at USC after just one season in Knoxville, Vol fans held the grudge for over 20 years.

Kiffin's lone season at Tennessee took place in 2009 and his return to Neyland Stadium wasn't until 2021.

He felt the built-up animosity from the crowd from warmups until he left the field for the final time.

"I was the head coach here at Ole Miss, we went to play at Tennessee," Kiffin said. "It was like on from warmups. Everyone was there, over 100 thousand people. There was like this hatred toward me. I felt like the gladiator in a movie. They were getting ready for like a thumbs-down. Let's kill him...

"They were chanting like f*** Lane Kiffin. That actually felt pretty intense and cool. 100 thousand people chanting that."

In anticipation for the game, Kiffin revealed that there was a 'real conversation' about wearing a bulletproof vest.

Ultimately, he decided against the idea but still had a security detail with him.

"They had a real conversation with me during the week about bulletproof vests," Kiffin said. "I was like there's no way guys, come on, man, it's football. They had three cops with me and everything... They ain't gonna really to do that, maybe like a golf ball they're going to throw at me or a bottle or something. There I was walking in and I was like this is awesome."

With little time remaining, Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren reached for the first-down marker. However, he was ruled short on the fourth-down attempt with the call being upheld after replay review.

Vol fans in attendance, who already felt slighted on a fumble return being called back earlier in the game, took out frustration with debris being thrown on the field. Most notably, a mustard bottle and golfball made appearances on the TV broadcast.

"It was a really close game at the end and then we won," Kiffin said. "Then they got pissed and they threw things at me. Golfball, anything they could get... Mustard bottles. How do you even have a mustard bottle? You just brought that to the game? Like, hey, were gonna go to the game and sneak the mustard bottle in. Isn't mustard free? Are you saving money?"

In terms of the golfball that Kiffin picked up after it hit the turf, he said he still has possession of it.

Similar to the mustard bottle, he had questions about why someone even had it in the stadium in the first place. He has built up a theory, though.

"They throw this golfball that became famous," Kiffin said. "They throw at me, afterward, I'm like, okay, mustard, what am I sneaking into the game? A golfball. What do you have a golfball for? I'm carrying a golf ball? I don't think they're think I'm gonna throw it, I'm gonna be pissed off in the fourth quarter and throw it. Then, I looked closer and it was a range ball. So I feel like you know what it was, it was the cheap guy that steals the range ball. So like okay, this way I'll have these to hit instead of having to buy a golfball so I'm gonna steal the range ball for next time I'm going to play a round so it was just in his pocket, that was my guess."

The segment on his return to Knoxville started with the word majestic.

Von asked Kiffin about his favorite places to play and Neyland Stadium instantly came to mind for the former Tennessee coach.

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

Afterward, he was asked about his favorite traditions in the sport, as well. He gave an over arching answer on the involvement of bands but narrowed in on Tennessee by talking about running through the T.

His least favorite tradition? Field storming.

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