Five reasons why Brian Kelly failed at LSU
Brian Kelly came to LSU in late 2021 with a clear and realistic goal: win the national championship.
His three predecessors as Tigers coach — Ed Orgeron, Les Miles and Nick Saban — all led LSU to titles by the end of their fourth full seasons on the job. Kelly had more impressive credentials than anyone — yes, even Saban — when he came to Baton Rouge, as the winningest coach in Notre Dame history, a two-time Division II national champion at Grand Valley State and a two-time AP national coach of the year.
Kelly brought his gritty, loud style to Bayou and was immediately successful, winning the SEC West Division title in his first season, and 10-game sweeps in each of his first two years. But he didn’t make the CFP in his first three seasons, and when a long-awaited fourth-place finish went awry after three losses in four games, LSU quickly pulled the plug.
A 49-25 home loss to Texas A&M in which the stands at Tiger Stadium emptied by the fourth quarter, followed by a contentious Sunday of meetings, led to Kelly’s ouster. He addressed the team briefly Sunday night, before leaving the Football Operations Building and Tiger Stadium for the final time.
How did things go so wrong so quickly for Kelly at LSU? He generated reactions from the moment he arrived, starting with his “here with my family” speech at a Tigers basketball game. But whatever harsh criticism came his way, Kelly still managed to stand on a track record of winning big…until he couldn’t.
ESPN reporters Mark Schlabach, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg examined the reasons why Kelly ultimately did not succeed at LSU.
The CEO approach is ineffective in the SEC’s hands-on practice
Those who worked with Kelly at both Notre Dame and LSU described him as a true CEO-style head coach. He typically hired a strong staff, especially at Notre Dame with defensive coordinators Mike Elko, Clark Lea and Marcus Freeman — all in sequence — and let them do their jobs. Kelly has always received a lot of attention for his sidelong reactions to bad moments, but a few who have worked with him have described him as extremely fragile.
As Kelly entered his third decade as head coach, he became less experienced in day-to-day operations, according to sources familiar with the program. Kelly ran the program somewhat remotely, dealing with the media and public-facing elements. “That’s his MO,” one former employee said.
This approach ultimately cost him a conference like the SEC, where head coaches not only oversee the process, but recruit like crazy, regularly interact with everyone who touches their teams and work until the wee hours of the morning almost year-round. There was no let-up in a conference with a lot of championship-focused programs, and Kelly fell behind.
The CEO approach could work for many programs, some of which would jump at the chance to hire a coach with Kelly’s credentials. But LSU ultimately needed a different approach. — Rittenberg
The coordinator code cannot be broken
Kelly was never able to find the right mix of coordinators, especially after offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s departure after the 2023 season to take the same position at Notre Dame. Denbrock helped quarterback Jayden Daniels win the Heisman Trophy in 2023, when the Tigers led the SEC in scoring with 45.5 points per game.
The only problem was that LSU’s defense, led by former Kansas City Chiefs linebackers coach Matt House, struggled to stop opponents. The Tigers went 10-3 in 2023, giving up 42 or more points in each of their three losses. They ranked next-to-last in the SEC in scoring defense (28 points) and run defense (161 yards).
Kelly fired House and three other defensive assistants after the 2023 season, and LSU selected defensive coordinator Blake Baker from Missouri, giving him a three-year contract that made him the highest-paid assistant in the FBS at $2.5 million per season.
With LSU’s defense seemingly in good hands, Kelly promoted quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan to co-offensive coordinator and play-caller. It proved to be a huge mistake. The Tigers were last in the SEC in rushing (116.4 yards) in 2024, and have been even worse this season, averaging 106.3 yards and 25.5 points. The school announced that Sloan had been relieved of his coaching duties on Monday. –Schlbach
It never seemed right
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Calls Stephen A. LSU AD after Brian Kelly’s shooting
Smith reflects on Brian Kelly’s tenure at LSU and calls out athletic director Scott Woodward about the big acquisitions of Kelly and Jimbo Fisher.
There’s an old Cajun saying about family, “Tout le monde est Cousin ic,” which means “Everyone here is relatives.” Unless you aren’t – and try hard to prove that you belong.
Kelly was a great football coach at Grand Valley State, Cincinnati and Notre Dame. He went to LSU because he wanted to coach somewhere with the recruiting base, financial resources and football-mad fans who would help him win a national title.
From his disastrous opening speech at an LSU basketball game, in which he uttered the word “family” in a fake Southern accent thicker than Raw, Kelly seemed completely out of place.
He was not blind to it. This season, Kelly worked with an image consultant based in Washington, D.C. to try to improve his public persona.
The problem wasn’t that Kelly was from Massachusetts and had never coached at a school outside the Midwest. Saban was from West Virginia and had never worked for a school or NFL team in the Deep South before taking over LSU. But Saban was authentic and true to his roots and didn’t try to hide what he was — a perfectionist who finally turned the Tigers into champions again after a 45-year title drought.
On Saturday, it appeared that Kelly no longer had the support of Gov. Jeff Landry, who was in the wake of Texas A&M’s loss. LSU was trolled on social media about raising football ticket prices for 2026. Landry was then in the middle of discussions that led to the school parting ways with Kelly, according to a source close to the situation.
In the end, Kelly didn’t win enough and tried too hard to prove to LSU fans that he was one of them. – Schlabach/Rittenberg
The transfer of the portal raised expectations
LSU set out to build the best transfer portal class in college football this offseason, believing the roster was a few players missing away from title contention. After losing freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood to Michigan, the coaching staff was determined to go out and get a big win in December when the portal opened.
One program source told ESPN in February that they were confident LSU had assembled the nation’s No. 1 gateway class, and they didn’t see much room for debate. “I don’t think it’s particularly close,” the source added. LSU has asked major donors to make seven-figure gifts to support this portal. The Tigers went out and signed whoever they wanted. Then they started 5-3.
Moral of the story: If you’re going all out and spending at an elite level in this new era, you better get results.
LSU didn’t give away its much-touted portal class that yielded 11 new starters. Mansur Dilan is enjoying an All-American season at cornerback, AJ Haulcy has been one of the best safeties in the SEC, and the Tigers’ efforts to overhaul the secondary have paid off. Defensive tackle Bernard Gooden has been a difference-maker on the offensive line when healthy.
But in eight games, most of these additions have been more solid than impressive. Barion Brown and Nick Anderson were considered two of the best wide receivers in the portal, but they haven’t changed LSU’s passing attack. Brown had a team-high 36 catches, but his 60 yards against Texas A&M were his most against a Power 4 opponent this season. Anderson has 10 catches for 74 yards. The Tigers’ offensive line struggled despite the additions of veteran starters Bralyn Moore and Josh Thompson.
The bigger point here is similar to what happened at Penn State: If you’re a head coach and you ask supporters to spend a lot of money for a special season and not deliver the finished product, they will quickly turn on you.
LSU wanted to compete with the best with an $18 million football roster after lagging behind many of its SEC peers in the NIL collegiate era. When you have a potential first-round pick at quarterback who leads a roster full of excellent high school and gateway talent, the reasonable expectation is College Football Playoff or bust. Kelly understood that and embraced it through 2025, but he couldn’t live up to it. –Olson
The race is on for Lane Kiffin
Neither Florida’s firing of Billy Napier nor Penn State’s firing of James Franklin had much to do with LSU’s decision to cut ties with Kelly. It was a partnership that wasn’t working, and influential decision-makers at LSU had seen enough.
Unless the Tigers try to jump to the front of the line for Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who has a 51-19 record in his sixth season with the Rebels.
But now, Kevin is in a great place on a personal level. His children and ex-wife live in Oxford, Mississippi, and his brother Chris is the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator for the defense.
However, can Kiffin win a national title at Ole Miss? He has relied heavily on the transfer portal to build his roster over the past two seasons, and that puts a lot of pressure on the coaching staff to deliver on the roster consistently.
A job like LSU’s would put Kiffin on equal footing with SEC powers Alabama, Georgia and Texas. He can build his roster through the fertile recruiting ground of high school in Louisiana and supplement it with transfers to fill needs.
LSU’s job is probably better than Florida’s for those reasons, and the Tigers won’t have to battle in-state rivals for the best opportunities. –Schlbach