Robert Griffin III reveals who called about replacing Brian Kelly at LSU

A lot of names will be floated and attached to LSU's coaching search after the Tigers fired Brian Kelly on Sunday, but probably none will be as outside-the-box as the one college football analyst Robert Griffin III suggested.

Griffin, the former Heisman Trophy winner and FOX Sports analyst, said former LSU star Tyrann Mathieu told him he wants to be the next head coach at his alma mater.

Mathieu, a star safety at LSU from 2010-11 who just retired from the NFL in July, has no coaching experience of any kind.

That didn't stop Griffin from advocating on his behalf.

LSU just fired Head Coach Brian Kelly with a $54 Million buyout and you will not believe who just told me that he wants to be the next Head Coach of the LSU Tigers. pic.twitter.com/jXOylpZBGM
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 27, 2025

"Who they bring in has to understand what it means to be an LSU Tiger, and I can let you guys know right now that you're going to have to surround this guy with a great staff -- defensive coordinator that's got experience, offensive coordinator that's got a ton of experience and other head coaches on the staff that can help him learn the ropes," Griffin said.

"But Tyrann 'Honey Badger' Mathieu hit me up and let me know that he wants the head coaching job at LSU, and you can't tell me any LSU Tiger wouldn't want him to lead them back to prominence like they're supposed to be."

Far-fetched? Yes.

With LSU set to pay Kelly a buyout in excess of $50 million after he failed to get the program into the College Football Playoff in his four seasons, the school is likely to prefer an established head coach and proven winner.

Names like Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz and Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea will be popular thoughts, or maybe the Tigers give fast-rising Tulane coach Jon Sumrall a promotion within the state or bring back Joe Brady, the passing game coordinator from the 2019 national championship team who is now the Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator.

It's hard to see LSU making any sort of risky hire, though, so Griffin's suggestion is merely fun banter.

In addition to having no coaching experience, Mathieu also had an unceremonious exit from LSU when then-coach Les Miles dismissed him from the team in August prior to the 2012 season for violating team rules, reported by ESPN and others to be repeated violations of LSU's substance abuse policy.

Mathieu was a great player for LSU during his two seasons on the field, though, earning SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American honors in 2011. He was drafted in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and played more than a decade in the league with the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints, winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs and earning three first-time All-Pro honors.