Future LSU stars tell exactly how they feel about former Tigers HC Brian Kelly and his firing without saying anything at all
The opinions of former LSU head coach Brian Kelly have become painfully obvious.
In the world of college football, with the transfer portal available, it has made it even more possible for players to remove themselves from a situation they don’t want to be in. There are a lot of reasons why a player might leave a school, ranging from lack of playing time, a promise not kept, or a bigger NIL payout elsewhere. When coaches are fired, we also typically see a lot of roster turnover.
When LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly a few weeks ago, many believed that several players would enter the transfer portal and that LSU would suffer various decommitments on the recruiting trail. Up until this point, that hasn’t been true. The Tigers have suffered just one decommitment in their 2026 recruiting class, Orlando (Fla.) Lake Nona EDGE DeAnthony Lafayette, who has since flipped to the Miami Hurricanes.
In comparison, when the Penn State Nittany Lions let go of head coach James Franklin a couple of weeks before, we saw an immediate exodus on the recruiting side. They had 17 commits decommit since that firing. That difference speaks volumes about Kelly’s perception and his recruiting impact, whether you want to admit it or not.
The harsh reality of Brian Kelly
While Kelly was the man in charge of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, he developed a reputation as a head coach who failed to get his teams prepared in the biggest games, consistently falling short in the most important moments. Kelly also had a reputation as an absent recruiter and was mocked for spending more time on the golf course than on the recruiting trail. There were far too many stories about Kelly being late on the recruiting side or never making it at all.
While recruits probably won’t come out of the shadows to insult Kelly, actions always speak louder than words. Perhaps some decommitments will happen in the future, but the disparity in comparison to what we are seeing with Penn State speaks volumes. Quite simply, Kelly hasn’t always been the most likable person behind the scenes, both with his players and potential recruits. It shouldn’t shock many that his exit hasn’t set off a chain reaction of defections. A lack of connection to Kelly is not something new.
Whoever the next head coach is, continuing to sell the great program that LSU is will be important. The next leader of the program also needs to be a grinder who is ready to work. Unlike what Kelly tried to sell early in his tenure, being a head coach of the Tigers isn’t quite as easy a job as some believe. When you have a personality that fits, it is easy to recruit to LSU.
In this current era, however, you need a coach who is ready to put their head down and fight to get this team back to prominence.
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