LSU Made a Costly Mistake with Brian Kelly, But It's Still College Football's Best Job
His tenure began with a botched attempt at Southern accent shortly after his 10-year, $100 million contract was freshly minted. It ended on Sunday night, 24 hours removed from one of the most disappointing home losses in LSU's long, remarkable history.
As the stands cleared out and boos echoed between the "Fire Kelly" chants, it was hard to envision Brian Kelly coaching another football game at a program he never seemed quite right at.
Indeed, Kelly is out at LSU, and he had to be out. They couldn't wait for that to happen again. This job is simply too good to be this bad, and it doesn't matter what it ultimately costs to remove him.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
"When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge," LSU AD Scott Woodward said in a statement. "Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize, and I made the decision to make a change after last night's game."
Kelly's 34-14 record in Baton Rouge wasn't good enough, and his 19-10 conference record shows just how much this job—the best job in all of college football—had slipped under his leadership.
The lasting image of his tenure will be the parade of players and staff members he screamed at on Saturday night as his team collapsed against Texas A&M. As bad as the results were, the optics were worse.
And yes, it will be costly. Insanely costly. Unfathomably costly. The economics of one bad hire are hard to wrap your brain around.
Kelly's buyout stood at a reported $54 million, the second largest in the history of the sport. What LSU and Kelly ultimately agreed upon to sever ties is unclear.
Although one thing is certain, this will cost the school a small fortune to remove the head coach from his post, and that's not all.
There will be fallout with the rest of the coaching staff, which will cost plenty more. Oh, then you'll have to hire a new coach—Lane Kiffin, stay near your cell phone for the foreseeable future—which will require an even larger financial commitment.
But this is LSU, a place that is built to win and compete for national championships. The three coaches that came before Kelly—Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron—all won titles.
This is LSU, where they have a tiger on campus and worship football in ways few will ever understand. It doesn't matter how much the sport has changed and evolved over the past five years.
In fact, based on how much the Tigers added this offseason, NIL and the transfer portal only give a powerful program in a talent-heavy recruiting state that much more to work with. This is a special job and a special place with unlimited potential.
To the coaches and agents who were interested in the openings in Happy Valley and Gainesville, well, now might be a good time to reassess.
Immediately, LSU became the best open job available. In any cycle, that would likely be the case, as robust as the other opportunities currently are. Penn State is a tremendous job. Florida is an elite job.
LSU is the job in college football.
Knowing this, the administration decided it couldn't wait. As the on-field product unraveled, the prospects of another season of unmet potential started to become real.
It is why LSU decided it couldn't wait no matter the cost. Hiring Kelly was a mistake, waiting any longer to fire him would have made a bad situation worse.
While the sport has rarely seen a situation quite like this, even with the number of firings and robust buyouts growing each week, LSU didn't need to look hard to find inspiration and hope for the future.
The very team that ultimately led to Kelly's demise, Texas A&M, found itself in this exact situation almost two years ago to the exact day. The Aggies made the decision to fire Jimbo Fisher in 2023—a decision that cost the school a record-breaking $77 million.
Two years later, with Mike Elko at the helm, Texas A&M showcased just how brilliant this expensive decision was. The Aggies, fresh off its dominating win over LSU, are unbeaten and the No. 3 ranked team in college football.
It doesn't always work out that way. In fact, as we're seeing across college football, most hires will fall below expectations prompting a change to take place and millions of dollars to be spent.
For LSU, the mistake was made. Now, a small fortune later, it has been resolved. The next step is finding the best possible candidate to fill the best possible vacancy in the country.
Since the last time LSU hired a coach, much has changed. The business of college football is booming. The cost of doing said business has gone up. But one thing hasn't changed, and it likely won't despite a slew of underwhelming seasons.
When it's right, LSU can be the best college football has to offer. Now, they must find the lucky individual and just the right fit capable of making it so.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
