Is Double-Talking LSU Coach Brian Kelly Out of His League?

“You’re Looking In the Wrong Place” 

LSU fans erupted when the defensively deficient Tigers failed to lure coveted defensive tackles Damonic Williams and Simeon Barrow from the portal. LSU’s defense was among the worst in the nation last year, which wasted the electrifying season of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels. After the 2023 campaign, Kelly fired his entire defensive staff and lured Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker to take over that role on the Bayou.

Kelly has spent much of the offseason trying to fortify his defense. Thus, striking out on two of the biggest prizes in the portal is an alarmingly bad look.

But what Kelly said in a recent interview with Jacques Doucet of WAFB was a catastrophic message that will forever be used against LSU in the perpetual cutthroat procurement of talent in the SEC. Kelly’s comments are a paid advertisement against LSU and must be seen to be believed:

“I think I made it pretty clear in a number of the press conferences that I had that we were in the market in recruiting and the transfer portal looking for defensive lineman,” Kelly said. “It hasn’t fared very well, quite frankly, because we’re selling something a little bit differently. And that is, we want to recruit, we want to engage, build relationships, we want to develop, retain and have success... We’re not in the market of buying players, and unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought. And I understand that NIL is part of this, and we have an incredible collective. We have very, very generous opportunities around the greater Baton Rouge area for NIL opportunities. So they are here, but we’re not going to go out and buy players. That’s not what this is about. This was never about that... We will develop you, we will get you ready for the next step… but if you’re just looking to get paid, you’re looking in the wrong place. If you like all the things that we do here in developing our players, bringing you into a championship program, playing in front of the best fanbase in America, playing for championships, and having an opportunity for NIL, you should be a Tiger. But if you just want to get paid, this is not the place for you.”

The Worst Possible Message and Toxic Fallout

Idealism died in the SEC long ago. The only ideal in college football’s best and most ruthlessly competitive league is to win championships by any means necessary.

Brian Kelly wants to build a program on the model coach Kirby Smart has used at Georgia. Smart built the best program in college football by accumulating the highest-ranked recruiting classes over several years and developing the talent at an NFL-ready level. But Smart began that method before NIL, and the transfer portal blew wide open. Smart was already rolling before the world changed overnight.

With the retirement of Nick Saban, the SEC appears to be wide open, with Smart’s UGA program at the point. However, LSU is one of the legitimate historic and institutionally capable threats to the Bulldogs. Kelly has now branded LSU as a school to avoid, particularly for players looking to get paid, which is nearly all of them, especially at the top end of the talent pool.

Kelly can obfuscate and say he didn’t mean it that way, but it’s too late. The toothpaste is out of the tube.

Not only did Brian Kelly fail at his mission to sign quality and desperately needed defensive talent, but he has potentially made LSU an unlikeable brand to the nation’s best players. Negative recruiting is a polite term for what SEC coaches will be up to when convincing the nation’s best prospects to come to their programs instead. 

Just What Did LSU Get in Brian Kelly?

While at Notre Dame from 2010 through 2021, Brian Kelly won 113 games, the most in the storied history of the program. However, his .739 win percentage ranks below Notre Dame legends such as Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz, and Dan Devine, all of whom produced national championships.

By contrast, Kelly failed to deliver a national championship. The closest he came was in 2012 when he led Notre Dame to a 12-0 record and a date with the Alabama Crimson Tide in the national championship game. Alabama destroyed Notre Dame 42-14 in a result far uglier than the score indicated. Alabama jumped out to a 35-0 lead before it called off the dogs.

Later, Notre Dame made two CFP appearances under Kelly. In 2018, The Fighting Irish went 12-0 but were decimated by Clemson 30-3 in the Cotton Bowl. And in 2020, Notre Dame went 10-1 but was manhandled by Alabama 31-14 in the Rose Bowl.

The results were indicative of Kelly’s Notre Dame program. The Fighting Irish had enough talent to beat the teams it was supposed to beat but were outclassed by college football’s elite programs. That is exactly why Kelly left a playoff-contending Notre Dame program during the season for refuge at LSU.

Kelly’s critics will say that his Notre Dame teams were never physical enough, and that was proven against Alabama and Clemson. Additionally, they would say that Kelly’s program was never prepared to beat the elite. They would also tell you that Kelly always has an excuse for failures, casting blame on others instead of owning it himself as a good leader should. 

The Ultimate Irony and Foretelling of Trouble Ahead 

Through his actions, Brian Kelly demonstrated his belief that LSU offered more of a shot at winning a national championship than Notre Dame. Yet the ultimate irony is that Kelly is not taking full advantage of LSU’s potential, which attracted him in the first place.

Former LSU national championship-winning head coach Ed Orgeron will never be confused as a Bill Walsh-type genius. Still, nobody could haul in elite talent like Coach O, whether by recruiting or the portal.

Brian Kelly's 2025 recruiting class is ranked outside the Top 10. His defensive deficiencies remain, and his portal results have proven abysmal. He is sinking fast in the SEC quicksand as other coaches, such as Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss, are doing more with less.

For now, LSU athletic director Scott Woodward is backing Kelly 100%. After all, Woodward is known as a big game hunter who loves to hire marquee brand coaches like Kelly and Kim Mulkey, the famed Bayou Bengals women’s basketball coach. Woodward hired Kelly on a 10-year $95 million contract. He's not going anywhere anytime soon.

But if Kelly falls too far behind the rest of the SEC, Woodward may find donors are not accepting his calls for more cash. At that point, things will get ugly in Baton Rouge.

LSU has a coach talking more like Dabo Swinney while not adapting like the GOAT Nick Saban.

It’s a bad Bayou Omen.