Former LSU Coach Brian Kelly Could Be Heading to the Big Ten

Former LSU head coach Brian Kelly is still getting used to his new role in the broadcast booth as a color commentator with CBS Sports.

In the meantime, Lane Kiffin is leading the Tigers during what could be a championship-level season in Baton Rouge.

But despite only being a few weeks into the 2026 college football, reports are already connecting Kelly back to a head coaching position at the Power 4.

Brian Kelly Linked to Rutgers Job

LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly looks on against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first half at Tiger Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to The Athletic, Rutgers could be a landing spot for Kelly if the Scarlet Knights end up parting ways with head coach Greg Schiano.

There are legitimate connections between Kelly and Rutgers that would make his hiring a logical one, regardless of how his tenure at LSU ended. Rutgers president Bill Tate and athletic director Keli Zinn both worked with Kelly ast LSU, as The Athletic points out. The relationship is already established.

Kelly is also a native of Massachusetts. A return to the northeast makes sense.

Brian Kelly Has Made it Clear He Misses Coaching

During a recent appearance with Sirius XM, Kelly admitted it was tough for him to watch LSU's season opener against Clemson.

"I'll be honest. I had a hard time watching it, but I don't think it was just LSU. It was just the first weekend, truly, of college football, and it was hard," Kelly said." Like you know, you've been doing it for you know 35 years, and not to be part of of that process, my wife she wanted to kill me. She was like, "What's wrong with you? And what was wrong was that I wasn't on the sideline, and it was you know I had to deal with it and and and get through it."

He added he was very impressed with what LSU was able to do in the 51-10 win.

But you know there's no mistaking LSU looked great, and you know obviously it's a little bit of both, right? Was Clemson maybe not as good as we thought, and and certainly LSU was was on fire, and that showed in the game. So, props props to LSU. They played great, but I think it's like you know we talked about Michigan, right? It's one game. Let's let's see what this looks like throughout the entire year. Can they keep the same energy? But they look really good."

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google