When Brian Kelly took the LSU job, he had a great chance to finally win a National Championship. Instead, the Tigers have cut bait with Brian Kelly 3.5 seasons into his tenure, paying him a massive buyout because it became clear a change needed to be made. The truth of Brian Kelly's tenure is that being stubborn ended up costing him a golden opportunity.
The three coaches to lead LSU before Brian Kelly took over all won National Championships by the end of their 4th season, while Kelly was fired in the middle of year 4. The fact of the matter is that Les Miles and Ed Orgeron followed the blueprints left behind by Nick Saban while Brian Kelly ripped them apart.
Brian Kelly did things his own way and it cost him everything
Brian Kelly was an outsider, but so was Nick Saban, who's from West Virginia, as well as Les Miles, who was born in Ohio. Both coaches and Ed Orgeron had staff filled with those who understood Louisiana, and it helped them win National Championships, while Brian Kelly showed plenty of them the door. In the end, three of the firings Brian Kelly made when he took the job hurt him more than anything else.
On Saturday Night, Texas A&M demolished the LSU Tigers in the trenches in a way that we always saw the best LSU teams win. The reason for the Aggies' dominant showing in the trenches was the fact that they hired Tommy Moffitt as their strength and conditioning coach.
Tommy Moffitt could've been Brian Kelly's strength and conditioning coach, but Brian Kelly chose to go in a different direction. Moffitt was expected to remain on the LSU staff when Ed Orgeron was fired, yet Brian Kelly kicked him to the curb, leaving Moffitt searching for a job for two seasons.
When Nick Saban left Baton Rouge, the greatest contribution he made to the program was leaving Tommy Moffit behind. Moffitt spent 21 years in Baton Rouge, spanning three different coaches winning a National Championship under Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron.
As everything changed from Head Coaches to coordinators and position coaches to players, Tommy Moffitt was the common denominator and the culture for LSU. Every week, Brian Kelly was being asked why his team wasn't physical enough, and it started with the decision to fire Moffitt.
Nearly as egregious as the decision to let go of Tommy Moffitt was the decision not to retain defensive backs coach Corey Raymond. The longtime assistant was the architect of LSU's DBU identity developing the likes of Tre'Davious White, Derek Stingley Jr, Grant Delpit, Jamal Adams, and Greedy Williams.
Firing Corey Raymond was such a mistake that when the LSU defense was one of the worst in program history, Brian Kelly went out and made up for his mistake by bringing Raymond back. When you look at what Raymond has done, bringing in the likes of DJ Pickett, AJ Haulcy, Mansoor Delane, and others, it makes the failures without him even worse.
In the same light as the decision to let go of Corey Raymond was the decision not to retain Blake Baker. After one season in Baton Rouge where Baker coached the Nation's leading tackler, Brian Kelly chose not to keep Blake Baker as his linebackers coach.
After being let go by LSU, Blake Baker went to Missouri as the safeties coach before becoming the defensive coordinator. Blake Baker became such a sought-after name as a defensive coordinator that Brian Kelly had to make him the Nation's highest-paid defensive coordinator after his Matt House hiring failed.