Brian Kelly has been one of the more notable coaches in college football and is entering his fourth season as coach of the LSU Tigers. Since he has arrived on campus, the team is 29-11 and has not made the College Football Playoff.
That is not to say he has coached poorly as he has won at least nine games in all three seasons with the program thus far in a difficult Southeastern Conference, including making the SEC Championship Game once. Some people believe that Brian Kelly should enter the 2025 college football season on the hot seat, but Paul Finebaum disagrees with that assessment.
Brian Kelly on the Hot Seat?
While appearing on ESPN’s First Take, ESPN College Football analyst Paul Finebaum shot down claims that Brian Kelly should be on the hot seat and needs to win the national championship this season.
“I understand why it’s being done, because when he was hired a couple of years ago from Notre Dame, he’s the first coach, I think in forever, to leave Notre Dame voluntarily. That’s was the expectation. But I think you have to look a little closer at what Brian Kelly has done and what he hasn’t done. He did beat Nick Saban. He got to the SEC Championship Game with Jayden Daniels. He’s underperformed a little bit since then, but the most important thing in college football is your roster.”
Finebaum would continue to explain how there are expectations heading int ot his season with the roster being significantly improved.
“He now has an outstanding roster. He told me a few weeks ago it’s the best roster he’s had since he was at Notre Dame. He also is recruiting at an elite level. He just picked up the No. 1 player in next year’s class yesterday. That matters. I’m sure there’ll be some pushback here, I understand that. I’ve been on the other side of these issues before. But I do not believe Brian Kelly, at this point, should be on the hot seat.”
This season could be a massive year for him as he is in the fourth year of a 10-year, $95 million contract with the LSU Tigers. His buyout is 90% of his remaining base salary, which would be a pretty penny for LSU to fork over. However, this could be the make-or-break season to see how Brian Kelly is able to build the program as these players would all be players he recruited and not from the previous regime.
Do you believe Brian Kelly should enter the 2025 college football season on the hot seat?
