297-Win Head Coach Sends Clear Message on Firing From College Football Program

The 2025-2026 head coaching carousel wreaked chaos across college football from September to February. In that time frame, 34 different FBS head coaching jobs came open as a result of firings, departures and resignations.

The SEC in particular saw plenty of movement with six different job openings, five of which opened because of firings. One of the messiest exits in the SEC occurred at LSU in late October when the Tigers decided to part ways with Brian Kelly.

Kelly has been open about his termination from LSU in recent months. He discussed his emotions from the rocky departure with Dusty Dvoracek and Danny Kanell on College Sports on SiriusXM Monday morning.

"You look carefully about why this happened, and look, the easy answer is, I didn’t win enough games. You know, that’s the bottom line, right? But you know, we came there to build a program, and you know, we didn’t get a chance to finish it," Kelly said.

"So I think the overriding emotion in that respect is, you know, disappointed that we didn’t get to finish the job. I think that’s probably the one thing, because I’ve been in it long enough to know, as you said in your first comments, you know you’re in this long enough, you’re probably going to get fired, but I never thought that would occur."

Brian Kelly's Success Before LSU

Kelly had been on a steady upward trajectory for 30 years as a head coach before he went to LSU in the 2022 offseason. In 13 seasons as a head coach at Grand Valley State, Kelly won 118 games and a pair of Division II national championships.

Neither Central Michigan nor Cincinnati held onto Kelly for more than three seasons because of how quickly he won with them. He took the Chippewas from four to nine wins from 2004 to 2006 and elevated the Bearcats from 10 to 12 wins from 2007 to 2009.

Under Kelly's watch at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish won 10 or more games in seven different seasons, a run highlighted by a BCS National Championship appearance in 2013 and College Football Playoff appearances in 2019 and 2021. A 4-8 mark in 2016 was the only losing record Kelly posted at Notre Dame.

Brian Kelly during LSU's 2025 game at Vanderbilt. — LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly watches against the Vanderbilt Commodores | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Future head coaching opportunities

The toxicity of Kelly's departure at LSU likely keeps him away from an SEC vacancy in the near future. However, there are other Power Four programs growing tired of their current head coaches.

The Massachusetts native could find himself among the top names for a future Boston College vacancy. The Eagles are coming off a 2-10 season under Bill O'Brien, a regression from his seven-win season in 2024.

Other Power Four programs in the northeast, growing tired of their head coaches, are Rutgers and Maryland. Greg Schiano enters the 7th season of his second stint at Rutgers, and Mike Locksley enters his eighth season as Maryland's head coach. Both the Scarlet Knights and Terrapins finished 2025 with losing records.

Although it is less attractive, a Group of Six school may have an interest in Kelly down the road. The firing of coaches, coupled with the Power Four poaching successful Group of Six coaches, creates a higher demand for coaches on that level.