LSU’s skid costs Brian Kelly dearly
In the college football preseason, the talk surrounding LSU was that this had to be the year that Brian Kelly got it done. He has always had a lot of talent since he backs a premier SEC program, but the 2025 team was supposed to be different. They weren’t. In fact, they are more disappointing and might be worse than previous Kelly teams. With little hope of turning it around, LSU decided to bite the bullet and fire Kelly. Pete Thamel confirmed it yesterday, saying, “Brian Kelly was informed of the intention to dismiss him earlier today. The school is expected to inform the team of this development tonight. Talks about the terms of his departure are expected to continue.”
With so much talent on the roster as well as the return of QB Garrett Nussmeier, to say what happened to LSU is surprising would be an understatement. They were loaded, and with a deep roster and a veteran QB skipping the draft, where he would have been a fairly high pick in all likelihood, this should’ve been a dream season.
It was a nightmare, though. The Tigers are currently unranked after an embarrassment at the hands of the Texas A&M Aggies. They’ve lost two in a row to ranked opponents, and those games could’ve saved their season and Kelly’s job. The Tigers started as the number nine team in the country, and a win over Clemson pushed them to number three, and they even had some votes to be number one. They hovered in that area for a bit, but the loss to Ole Miss really sent them spiraling down, and they’ve now fallen entirely out of the rankings and out of the playoff conversation.
LSU had plenty of chances to make statements this year. They’ve gone 1-3 against ranked opponents this year, which is unbecoming of a theoretical national title contender. It’s also obviously not up to par for the program. With a red-hot Alabama up next and number 18 Oklahoma on the schedule later, the odds of LSU sneaking back into the top 25 are slim. With an interim coach, they’re nigh impossible.
This decision was not one made lightly, though. Kelly’s contract was a massive one, and getting out from under it is going to be detrimental. There was a “very tense” meeting with the LSU AD after the loss, according to the NY Post. The AD wanted to make staff changes, pushing Kelly to fire the offensive coordinator. Kelly pushed back and suggested other staff changes, but the AD didn’t like those, so Kelly was fired. Not long after, offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was also fired, so Kelly’s stand didn’t help either coach last longer in their jobs. The firing is maLSU $54 million.
Right now, it’s unclear what direction LSU will go. James Franklin was fired from his high-profile job at Penn State, and Florida moved on from Billy Napier. Given that both coaches have led top programs, they might be candidates to replace Kelly. Additionally, Dabo Swinney and Lane Kiffin have been tossed around as possible candidates. Marcus Freeman’s name seems to come up with regard to top program openings all the time, so expect to hear about that, too.
