Subscribe
Follow Us
After 12 largely successful years at Notre Dame, Brian Kelly took the head coaching job for LSU football in 2021. Turns out, Kelly didn't want it at first. He had his sights set on the Texas Longhorns job, the Tennessee Volunteers job or perhaps an NFL position, according to Chris Low.
When Kelly's agent called him about taking the LSU football job, his first thought was “not interested.” Apparently, Kelly had job offers at Texas and Tennessee while he was still at Notre Dame, but the timing wasn't right. When Kelly decided to move on from the Fighting Irish, those opportunities weren't available anymore. The LSU job was available, and this time, the timing was right.
All things considered, Brian Kelly's first season at LSU was pretty successful, finishing 10-4. He was the butt of some offseason jokes last year, largely surrounding his faux southern accent and a strange video with a high school recruit.
Did you lose a bet or something @CoachBrianKelly ?? This can’t be real. Photoshopped? Account hacked?? I mean …. https://t.co/HvhOo2AcIZ
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 29, 2022
Kelly's first game as the Tigers' head coach had some obvious growing pains. LSU lost that game to Florida State via a blocked extra point attempt with no time on the clock.
After that, however, the Tigers found a lot of success. They did lose to No. 8 Tennessee, but they beat No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 6 Alabama and made it all the way to the SEC Championship game. The Georgia Bulldogs won that game comfortably, perhaps as expected. But Georgia was obviously the best team in the country and pretty much breezed through everyone on the way to a second consecutive National Championship.
After the loss to Georgia, the bowl committee matched LSU up with Purdue in the Citrus Bowl, which was maybe a bit disrespectful. LSU closed the season with a 63-7 thrashing of the Boilermakers.
Kelly's future at LSU looks bright. The Tigers have 12 transfers coming in to supplement a talented roster. They'll have strong quarterback play from Jayden Daniels, and Malik Nabers projects as their best offensive weapon.
Brian Kelly preaches consistency, and LSU is still probably a year or two away from being legit championship contenders. Still, any team that wins 10 games in the SEC has something going on. Expect Kelly and LSU football to be very competitive this year and contend for a College Football Playoff spot.
