SEC coaching saw a massive shakeup this offseason as former Alabama coach Nick Saban announced his retirement.
Saban is widely regarded as the greatest college football coach of all time, and his absence leaves something of a power vacuum in the league. Georgia’s Kirby Smart seems most poised to capitalize as he’s already won a pair of national titles with the Bulldogs, but perhaps LSU’s [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag], who is still searching for his first FBS national title, will be the biggest beneficiary.
CBS Sports’ Will Backus recently ranked all 16 SEC head coaches, and while Smart took the top spot, Kelly came in right behind him at No. 2.
Brian Kelly (4 overall): Maybe Kelly’s LSU tenure hasn’t gone exactly to plan. The Tigers haven’t been bad by any stretch of the imagination — they’re one of just four SEC programs with at least 20 wins over the past two seasons — but Kelly set his eyes on championships when making the move to Baton Rouge, and those have yet to materialize. There’s also the sense that LSU fell well short of its potential last year, going 9-3 in the regular season and finishing tied for second in the SEC West despite fielding a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback in Jayden Daniels. Still, Kelly’s already got an SEC West title under his belt and has proven that he can compete for national titles before. LSU certainly affords him the resources to return to that level, especially with an expanded playoff increasing opportunity. Last year: 3 in the SEC
Despite having to replace a lot, 2024 will be a big year for Kelly as he enters his third season in Baton Rouge. It was a monumental coup when athletics director Scott Woodward convinced him to leave Notre Dame, and it was done with the expectations of winning a national championship as LSU’s three prior coaches have done.
Whether Kelly can get to the mountaintop remains to be seen, but the list of SEC coaches who are more accomplished is now quite small.
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