Not gonna be missed too much in Baton Rouge.
LSU made the somewhat surprising move of firing head coach Brian Kelly last night, one day after suffering an embarrassing loss to Texas A&M in Tiger Stadium.
Now, I say the move is surprising not because of the Kelly’s performance as head coach of the Tigers. In his three and a half years as head coach in Death Valley after taking over for Ed Orgeron, Kelly managed only a 34-14 record and missed the playoffs all four years. While that’s not terrible, his record was 5-11 against ranked teams, and his one appearance in the SEC Championship game was an embarrassing 50-30 loss to Georgia during his first season.
While his record was probably good enough to keep his job at most schools, LSU has different expectations for their football program. Their last three coaches, Nick Saban, Les Miles and Coach O, have all won national championships within their first four seasons. Kelly, meanwhile, never seemed to get things going in Baton Rouge.
The only reason it was even a little bit of a surprise that the Tigers parted ways with the former Notre Dame head coach was his massive buyout. Kelly is owed nearly $54 million on his contract, the second-largest buyout in the history of college football. (The largest belongs to former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, who was hired by then-athletic director Scott Woodward…who is now the athletic director at LSU, and the man who hired Brian Kelly. Not a great track record…)
It’s safe to say that Kelly was never really a fit for LSU. From the cringeworthy recruiting videos and the awkward fake accent that he put on during his introduction to the Tigers, the Boston native never really embraced the culture of the bayou. And he also rubbed quite a few people the wrong way, telling Tigers reporters that they were “spoiled” when asking about a win over a struggling Florida team earlier this season and, notably, dismissing long time LSU strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt when he got to Baton Rouge.
Ironically, Moffitt landed at Texas A&M…who completely dominated LSU in the second half of games these past two years.
But apparently it wasn’t just the Tiger fans that Kelly rubbed the wrong way.
After his firing was announced, MANY former LSU football players, including several who played under Kelly during his time in Death Valley, took to social media to celebrate the school parting ways with their coach:
Malik Nabers, who played two seasons for Kelly at LSU and is now a wide receiver for the New York Giants, seemingly told his former coach to “kick rocks” on his Instagram story.
Zach Weeks, a freshman linebacker for the Tigers, also seemed to celebrate after the firing was announced. (Notably, Zach is the brother of Whit Weeks, another LSU linebacker who is dating Landry Kiffin, daughter of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin…who just happens to be seen as one of the top targets for LSU to replace Kelly).
Dwight McGlothern Jr., a defensive back for the Minnesota Vikings who transferred from LSU to Arkansas when Kelly got hired, was clearly pleased by the news.
Bradyn Swinson, a former linebacker for LSU who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, also didn’t seem too upset to see his former coach let go:
And Xavier Atkins, a linebacker who played his freshman year at LSU in 2024 before transferring to Auburn this season, called it a “great day” after Kelly was fired:
Former LSU running back Trey Holly, who left the team after a 2024 arrest, was even more pointed in his hatred for Kelly:
I’m sure I missed some, but the point is: LSU players clearly HATED Brian Kelly. I don’t remember ever seeing so many players and former players celebrating when their coach gets fired. You usually get the typical “greatest coach I ever played for” messages, thank yous, and tributes. But not this time.
I don’t think anybody is sad to see Brian Kelly leave Baton Rouge. Except maybe Texas A&M fans now that they’ve lost that guaranteed win every year.
