College Football HQ

Brian Kelly Reveals First Thing He'd Do If He Were Commissioner of College Football

The former LSU boss picked a first priority to fix college football which might surprise.
Joe Cox|
Former LSU coach Brian Kelly picked a surprising issue to fix in college football on a recent podcast appearance.
Former LSU coach Brian Kelly picked a surprising issue to fix in college football on a recent podcast appearance. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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LSU Tigers

There's no shortage of problems to fix in college football. Those closest to the sport certainly have their own particular issue or issues of focus. Former LSU coach Brian Kelly certainly fits the profile of an insider who has a few ideas on how to fix the sport.

On the Sirius XM College Sports Radio show, Kelly was briefly questioned as to how he could fix the issues apparent in college football, where runaway money, expectations, and resources seem to have created a college football arms race. Like an insider, Kelly chose a somewhat surprising starting point for fixing the health of college football

Kelly Spotlights College Football's Big Issue

"If I was the commissioner and I was given the task of getting this moving quickly, I certainly would start with the calendar," said Kelly. "The calendar is about academics. We've lost sight of the academic piece here. That doesn't matter anymore. So I challenge the Presidents of all the Universities that are part of this to wake up."

Calendaring Problems

In speaking about the calendar, Kelly specified that he would like to see schools able to get started earlier, begin the season earlier, and possibly wrap up in time to make the portal/transfer situation move viable for everyone involved.

"You have to be able to start sooner," Kelly said. "If you can't start sooner, you're going to keep dealing with the same issues and the same problems, which create bigger problems at the end of the day."

With the fall semester starting too late for schools to move up the football calendar and the season continuing to the point where the portal window extends several weeks into the spring semester, Kelly's calendaring issues are nothing new. For that matter, Josh Pate detailed a pretty logical possibility to fix the calendar-- not that any of college football's movers and shakers seemed to be listening.

Kelly's Rise and Sudden Fall

Kelly finds himself with plenty of time to study the problems of college football as for the moment, he's slated to not be a head coach this fall for the first time since 1990. Kelly climbed from winning back-to-back Division II national titles at Grand Valley State to success at Central Michigan, Cincinnati, and then Notre Dame.

After five straight double figure win seasons at Notre Dame, Kelly took the LSU job. He was 34-14 with the Tigers, but failed to reach the College Football Playoff and struggled through an ugly start to 2025, only to be fired mid-season. Kelly recently drew notice for indicating interest in a return to coaching, but whether he's on the sideline or out of the game, he's certainly aware of the potential root problem to many college football problems.

Kiffin
Lane Kiffin has followed Brian Kelly at LSU, but he inherits some of the same organizational problems that plagued his predecessor. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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