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Eli Manning Cracks Perfect One-Word Joke About Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Departure

Manning is finding his way through with humor.
Eli Manning cracked a joke about Lane Kiffin’s exit from Ole Miss to LSU.
Eli Manning cracked a joke about Lane Kiffin’s exit from Ole Miss to LSU. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Eli Manning is still maintaining a sense of humor despite the turmoil at his alma mater.

On Tuesday afternoon, Manning cracked a great joke about Lane Kiffin’s jump from Ole Miss to LSU. The former Rebels star quoted a Pro Football Talk tweet that said, “Lane Kiffin’s introductory press conference at LSU included a claim that an Ole Miss fan tried to run him off the road on the way to the airport.”

Manning only needed one word in his hilarious response: “Oops!”

Implying you attempted to drive your school’s departing coach off the road as he left town isn’t typically something we’d laugh about, but we’ll make an exception here.

A few weeks ago, Manning chimed in on the “will he or won’t he” saga involving Kiffin’s potential departure to LSU. He said he hoped the situation was settled before the Rebels faced Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.

Well, it wasn’t. Kiffin announced he was heading to LSU on Sunday after the game, and has taken several of his staff members with him. Now Ole Miss is preparing for the College Football Playoff with new permanent head coach Pete Golding in charge.

Kiffin’s introductory press conference was filled with fascinating nuggets of information. The story of almost being driven off the road was one, while the key part of his conversation with LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry was another.

One development that should make Manning happy is the fact that offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will be coaching Ole Miss during the playoff, despite planning to go to LSU with Kiffin.

I doubt that’ll help him get over it, but maybe it’ll help a little.


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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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