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Lane Kiffin reacts to iconic photo turned into Nico Iamaleava meme

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh04/12/25griffin_mcveigh
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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

If anyone can relate to Nico Iamaleava at the moment, it’s Lane Kiffin. Both have been in the center of incredibly public breakups with Tennessee. Kiffin as a head coach, leaving Knoxville after one season in favor of USC. Iamaleava does not know his next destination yet but spent just one season as the Vols’ starter.

There is an iconic photo of Kiffin during the period, leaning on a wall. Well, a Tennessee fan put a new spin on things and cropped Iamaleava’s face on there. A nice throwback for the fanbase, potentially producing a laugh during a frustrating time.

Even Kiffin had to give his reaction on social media. A simple face palm emoji perfectly expressed his thoughts on the situation. You can check the tweet out from Kiffin here.

Kiffin was hired by Tennessee ahead of the 2009 season, going 7-6 overall and 4-4 against SEC competition. But when USC came calling, a place he spent six years under Pete Carroll, the offer was too good to pass up. Chaos ensued on Rocky Top as Kiffin became the program’s biggest villain.

Other people have certainly dethroned Kiffin over the past 15 years but potentially not to the level of Iamaleava. Tennessee is fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance with him as the starting quarterback. Iamaleava was a huge recruiting win for the program as well.

Instead, Tennessee will have to move forward without him. A situation they will want to put behind them quite quickly and turn attention to the 2025 season.

Josh Heupel addresses Nico Iamaleava situation

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel addressed Nico Iamaleava and the QB’s departure from the program. Heupel informed the team that it was moving on from Iamaleava Saturday morning prior to the spring game.

The Vols QB was in negotiations about his NIL deal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Iamaleava missing practice and meetings on Friday turned a lot of heads in the college football world.

Following the spring game, Heupel discussed the latest regarding his quarterback. Safe to say, Iamaleava stole all the headlines during college football spring practice.

“Man, listen, it’s the state of college football,” Heupel told Brent Hubbs on The Vol Network radio broadcast. “At the end of the day, no one is ever bigger than the program. That includes me, too. We’ve got an opportunity. We’ve got a bunch of guys that will give their all for Tennessee. We move forward. Got a great group. Let’s go compete.”

On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report