As much as LSU has trotted out Brian Kelly and made it seem like he was their dream hire for the past week it seems to be that Kelly was wasn’t the first choice.
Rumors with LSU and Lincoln Riley ran rampant, so much in fact that Oklahoma State trolled their in-state rival Sooners during their rivalry game by blaring “Callin’ Baton Rouge” at Oklahoma’s former head coach.
As it turns out there was someone else besides Riley that LSU wanted more than Kelly.
According to longtime college football reporter Brett McMurphy, LSU offered Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher an eight-year deal worth $125 million ($13 million per year). It just so happens that LSU was hosted Texas A&M on Thanksgiving weekend, two days before reports surfaced of Kelly accepting the job.
For comparison, Kelly wound up accepting a 10-year deal from LSU worth $95 million but that has plenty of incentives that in all likelihood will push it significantly north of $100 million.
Not bad money if you can get it, even if you were a backup plan.
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