How LSU's Coaching Changes Affect Alabama's Preparation for the Tigers

LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan ahead of their matchup with the Crimson Tide.

Oct 25, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Brian Kelly isn't the first FBS head coach to be fired this season, and he certainly won't be the last, but the timing of his firing does affect Alabama. Kelly was terminated on Sunday after the Tigers' 49-25 loss at home against Texas A&M, and LSU's next opponent is the Crimson Tide.

It will be the first time this season that Alabama faces a team with an interim coach when the Tigers come to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 8 with Frank Wilson stepping in to replace Kelly. LSU (5-3, 2-3 SEC) also fired offensive coordinator Joe Sloan as the Tigers' offense has underperformed relative to its talent for most of the season.

Alabama will have an extra week to prepare for LSU, but as Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer explained during Wednesday's SEC teleconference, there could be some new wrinkles for the LSU offense.

"Really it’s just the one side of the ball with the offensive coordinator position on their end," DeBoer said. "Just understanding you might get some different looks, different tendencies, things like that. Those players are out there, and we understand how talented they are. They got a lot of juice, a lot of speed, a lot of playmakers, so we gotta be at our best."

There are currently 12 FBS head coach openings with those 12 programs firing their coaches at different points throughout the season. Some teams, like UCLA and UAB, have rallied around their interim coaches to surprising upset victories after their head coaches were fired. Others, like Penn State, have continued in their losing ways.

"We’ve seen teams that come together," DeBoer said. "We’ve seen teams that fall apart. We can’t worry about that because we don’t control that piece. We can just control who we are, and we’ve got to continue to get better on our end.”

Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) is ranked fourth in the country and sits atop the SEC standings with four games left to play in the regular season. The Crimson Tide is firmly in control of both its SEC and College Football Playoff destiny in DeBoer's second season.

Some of Alabama's best performances under DeBoer have come off of bye weeks (Georgia and LSU in 2024, and Georgia earlier this season.) The LSU offense being led by a different playcaller will make scouting more challenging for the Crimson Tide, but the extra week of prepartion works in Alabama's favor.