LSU’s decision to fire head coach Brian Kelly might be coming at the worst time possible for the Alabama Crimson Tide
LSU’s coaching change makes Alabama’s life a lot harder.
In what has become the premier day to make in-season changes, the LSU Tigers parted ways with head coach Brian Kelly on Sunday, signaling the end of a relationship that seemed rocky from the jump.
Typically, the firing of a head coach is good news for a rival. But that is because said firings come in the offseason. When they happen during the fall, there is a phenomenon in football known as the interim head coach bump.
Well, Alabama is about to see that in full force, and with an extra week of prep for the Tigers.
Alabama could be walking into a trap game against LSU on Nov. 8
When you get embarrassed, at home, the way the LSU Tigers did against Texas A&M, the writing was on the wall. Kelly never felt like the right fit for the Tigers. From the time he faked his accent in his opening pep rally, to the dancing with recruits, to the product on the field.
That doesn’t mean he’s a bad coach. But he belongs in the Midwest, coaching somewhere in the Big 10, not the SEC. That much was proven between 2022 and 2025. And his next game was supposed to be against a well-rested and likely to be big-time, home favorite, the Alabama Crimson Tide.
But now he’s out. And what does that do for LSU? It creates new energy; it takes the dark cloud that was hanging over the program, pushes it out, and opens a clear sky. It takes the pressure off the players and lets them go out there and play loose.
Not to mention, the team has an extra week to prepare for Alabama. An extra week to focus on the last month of the season and go out strong. Alabama, on the other hand, is happy to have the week off following way too close a call against an inferior South Carolina team.
I’m not saying Alabama shouldn’t be favored, or that Alabama should be on upset alert. But crazier things have happened, and losing to LSU the game after they fire Kelly isn’t that big of a stretch.
This is one of the most talented teams in the country on paper. That’s part of the reason that Kelly was fired to begin with.
So you won’t hear it from Kalen DeBoer or anyone on Alabama’s staff, but if you caught them privately, they would tell you that they hoped LSU would have relieved Kelly of his duties after next week’s game in Tuscaloosa.
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