The collection of coaching talent currently in the Southeastern Conference is astounding, and it only got better this offseason when LSU hired coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] — the third-winningest active head coach in the FBS — away from Notre Dame, where he had spent 12 seasons.
Kelly came to compete against the best and, ultimately, capture an elusive national championship. Though coaching the Tigers will present a challenge the likes of which he hasn’t faced so far in his coaching career, his track record speaks for itself.
It’s for that reason that, heading into 2022, Kelly is considered one of the best coaches in the league. According to CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee, he ranks No. 4 in the league this fall — and No. 7 nationally.
Brian Kelly (7 overall): The first-year coach of the Tigers led Notre Dame to two CFP berths and a spot in a BCS National Championship Game during his 12-year tenure in South Bend, Indiana. That success came despite academic and geographic challenges that make it difficult to sustain success at an elite level with the Fighting Irish. He is 263-96-2 overall in his career (not including vacated wins) and has been named Home Depot Coach of the Year three times. Last year: N/A in the SEC
Sallee has Kelly listed behind Alabama’s Nick Saban, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher, which seems fair given the fact that each of those three has won a national title, with Saban and Smart representing the previous two champions.
Fisher’s last and only title came in 2013, and he hasn’t quite delivered so far in the league after jumping from Florida State in 2018. But with a lot of talent congregating in College Station, the Aggies should be formidable in the near future.
Still, Kelly isn’t your typical first-year head coach in the SEC, and thanks to his pedigree, he brings high expectations with him to the bayou from South Bend.
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