Eli Manning decided to have a little fun with the ongoing college coaching saga involving Lane Kiffin.
The same Sunday Kiffin announced he was leaving Ole Miss for LSU, Manning replied to a tweet from the parody account 247Sport shared the night before. He wrote, “‘Coach Manning’ has sounds of the night,” clearly enjoying the situation.
Manning, a two-time Super Bowl champion, played at Ole Miss from 2000 to 2003.
Despite the lighthearted joking, it’s clear Manning, who is 44, won’t be stepping in to coach the seventh-ranked Rebels. Ole Miss has officially promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding right after Kiffin confirmed his move to LSU.
Kiffin, 50, posted on X saying, “After much prayer and time with my family, I have made the difficult decision to accept the head coaching position at LSU.” It was a big shift, especially after weeks of speculation about his next steps.
There’s a bit of context here. Kiffin was expected to announce his decision on Saturday, but that got delayed and moved to Sunday, with reports suggesting the postponement was tied to university efforts related to staff retention for College Football Playoff operations.
He mentioned in a statement that he wanted to finish this season with the current team but was ultimately stopped from doing so by Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter.
In his closing remarks, Kiffin said he was excited about the fresh opportunity at LSU while also cherishing the six great years he spent at Ole Miss. He expressed a desire to help the new team achieve its goals and bring championships to Oxford.
Interestingly, Kiffin had been linked to various coaching opportunities in October, especially after the University of Florida dismissed Billy Napier and LSU parted ways with Brian Kelly shortly after. Meanwhile, Florida has now hired John Sumrall from Tulane.
