Brian Kelly Addresses Whether or Not He Plans to Coach Again

The Brian Kelly era at LSU certainly did not go how the 64-year-old veteran coach anticipated.

Kelly was fired by LSU last October, just eight games into his fourth season with the Tigers’ program. LSU, which holds justifiable national championship expectations, was falling woefully short of that standard under Kelly.

The fit never seemed quite right with Kelly and LSU. After leaving Notre Dame in December of 2021, a place where his 113 wins rank first all-time in school history, Kelly took the job in Baton Rouge in a stunner, where he believed he had a better chance to compete for national championships.

That never came close to reality for Kelly at LSU, and now he’s taking his time as he evaluates his next steps. One thing is for certain though, Kelly is open to coaching again if the right situation comes about.

“I don’t know that I’ve made the decision that I want to get back in, as all the things we’ve talked about, I’d want to see some changes,” Kelly told Dusty Dvoracek and Danny Kanell on SiriusXM on Friday morning. “”But I think while you wait, you need to work. And so, I need to stay in the game. My first order of business is this next two, three weeks, I’m gonna be visiting some places to see spring ball, get a chance to see some things relative to the football side, the operational side, some of the things we talked about today with NIL, transfer and calendar, and get a temperature in the spring for some things.”

Kelly also said he plans to visit some programs this fall as well, as he continues to gather intel on how programs are being run in the NIL era from previous members of his coaching staff.

“I want to do that in the fall, too,” Kelly added. “I want to get around and see their programs, see how they’re doing, get a sense of where I can grow and I can be better. And so, that’s really my focus right now. And then if the right situation comes about and I’m ready, I’m certainly going to entertain that.”

Kelly won 10 games twice and nine games once at LSU in the three seasons prior to being fired. He’s never won a national championship at the FBS level, but does hold an impressive 200–76 record in 22 years as a head coach. He’s won to varying degrees every place that he’s been, but it’s clear he’ll be selective before jumping back into coaching.

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