When it was announced that Brian Kelly was leaving Notre Dame and taking the job at LSU, it seemed it was match made in heaven. The knock-on Brian Kelly while in South Bend is he had taken the program as far as he could because the academic standards limit the type of player he could bring in. Now he was headed to a state full of high school talent so surely, he could finally get over the hump and bring another national championship to Baton Rouge. Clearly, there was a cultural clash from the start as it takes a certain personality to fit in at LSU. Kelly stood out like a sore thumb, but we all know winning fixes all those type of concerns.
That immediate success he had in year one may have hurt him in the long run with the huge win over Alabama and an appearance in the SEC Championship game. Many felt that if he could do that in year one with a lot of limitations on the roster that great things were on the horizon for the Tigers. Despite his personality quirks Kelly definitely fits the stereotypical coaching mold that previous LSU coaches like Les Miles and Orgeron didn't. It seemed he would be able to bring a certain stability seen at the likes of SEC rival Alabama.
Of course that didn't happen with opening game losses piling up over his tenure, not being able to beat Alabama again, or even getting back to the SEC Championship game. It seemed every year something was missing from every LSU team. We saw Jayden Daniels win the Heisman putting up numbers of a lifetime, but the problem of course was the defense was so bad that it wasn't enough. The defensive issues were addressed and fixed with Blake Baker running that side of the ball. The problem became Garrett Nussmeier never living up to the expecations. He showed signs of greatness in 2024, but struggled in big games against Texas A&M and Alabama which ended any playoff dreams last year.
Then this season came and this was the year everything was supposed to come together. The defense was healty and ready to go and Garrett Nussmeier was high on the pre-season Heisman list. However, from the week one game at Clemson it was clear that something was wrong with the offense, but everyone chalked it up to playing against a good Clemson team on the road and that they would figure it out. But since then, we have learned Clemson isn't who we thought they were going to be, and the offense that was going to be explosive and spectacular never got off the ground. Nuss has yet to have a big game this season and frustrations grew quickly amongst the loud fanbase.
They were willing to ignore Kelly not fitting the cutlure of Louisiana because another guy by the name of Nick Saban had found success both their and Alabama despite not really fitting in culturally. However, when you aren't winning the big games your quirks and after game rants grow old quickly, and there has been a sense that he has been on thin ice all season. It all imploded last night at home where we are left with an image of Aggies fans taking over Death Valley. Maybe there is not a specific plan of where they will look next, but the decision makers felt it was better to cut ties before things got worst for a program who never fully figured it out under the leadership of Brian Kelly.