On Saturday Night, the LSU Tigers were embarrassed in Death Valley as Texas A&M came into Baton Rouge and ended the Tigers' hopes of making the College Football Playoff. The fanbase chanted for Brian Kelly to be fired, and on Sunday Night, their wishes came true as the LSU Tigers fired the 4th year Head Coach in a truly stunning turn of events.
This season was supposed to be the season where LSU finally broke through under Brian Kelly, and instead, it's been an utter disaster. The Tigers have fallen out of the College Football Playoff before November, and after going All-In on this roster, losing in this type of fashion was never going to be acceptable.
In the 2000s, Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron all won National Championships by the end of their 4th season, which makes Kelly's constant shortcomings much harder for the fanbase to accept. When Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU, he said it was to win Championships, and as he's shown, he's not that level of coach; changes needed to be made.
Brian Kelly ends his LSU career with a 34-14 record while going 19-10 in SEC Play. Kelly's best season came in Year 1 when he won the SEC West and lost to Georgia in the SEC Championship as each season since has been a regression.
When you look at what ended up costing Brian Kelly his job, you have to look at how he handled his staff. When Brian Kelly took the job, he cleaned house, including firing legendary Defensive Backs coach Corey Raymond, who's now back in Baton Rouge, as well as strength coach Tommy Moffitt, who won 3 National Championships with LSU and helped Texas A&M beat the Tigers the last two seasons.
Kelly's first defensive staff was a disaster, which led to Matt House and the staff being fired after Kelly's second season, and the Tigers making Blake Baker the highest-paid coordinator in the Country at the time. Joe Sloan was elevated to Offensive Coordinator in part because he landed Bryce Underwood, who ended up flipping late in the recruiting cycle. Sloan has struggled mightily as LSU's OC and was a candidate to be fired as soon as Sunday.
While Penn State and Florida are great jobs, the LSU opening instantly becomes the best in the Country and will attract a ton of names. An interesting name to follow will be Lane Kiffin, as he worked closely with current LSU Football GM Austin Thomas. The Tigers' search is going to be fascinating as their last search ended with a big swing hiring Brian Kelly.
Money could end up being a massive factor for the Tigers in their search, as Brian Kelly will be paid over $50 million in his buyout. The good news for LSU is that if Brian Kelly gets a job anywhere else, including on TV, it'll lessen how much the Tigers owe him.