LSU athletics director Scott Woodward shocked the college football world in November when he managed to hire Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame. Kelly had been the head coach in South Bend since 2010, and over his career, he’s the third-winningest active head coach in the FBS behind Alabama’s Nick Saban and North Carolina’s Mack Brown.
The Tigers fired a coach just two years removed from a national championship in Ed Orgeron, and the expectations for Kelly will be clear up front: This fanbase wants another title.
There’s certainly reason to believe Kelly, who took the Fighting Irish to a BCS national championship and two College Football Playoffs, can get the job done with the added resources that come from coaching in the SEC.
Heading into the season, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman listed Kelly as the No. 5 coach in college football, two spots down from where he was entering last season. He’s behind Saban, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Ohio State’s Ryan Day.
The only thing missing from his 92-39 tenure at Notre Dame: Winning a national title. There were some blowout losses in big games, but he did a superb job in South Bend — as he has done at every stop he’s been. Now, the 60-year-old moves to the SEC, where it’s national title or bust.
“National title or bust” is a good way to describe this move for LSU. The Tigers’ last three coaches have all won titles, though one of them bolted for the NFL while the next two were dismissed after things began to go downhill.
Kelly likely hopes to finish his career in Baton Rouge, and he’ll try to capture that elusive first championship in the process.
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