There have been 3 signs already that new LSU Football coach Brian Kelly is going to fail in Baton Rouge
When LSU decided to hire Brian Kelly to replace Ed Orgeron as the program's head coach, it was immediately viewed as an odd fit. Kelly is from Massachusetts. He's spent his entire coaching career in the midwest, including the last 12 years at Notre Dame. The feeling is that Kelly realized he couldn't win a […]
When LSU decided to hire Brian Kelly to replace Ed Orgeron as the program's head coach, it was immediately viewed as an odd fit.
Kelly is from Massachusetts. He's spent his entire coaching career in the midwest, including the last 12 years at Notre Dame.
The feeling is that Kelly realized he couldn't win a national championship at Notre Dame, so that's why he wanted out. LSU, on the other hand, needed to make a big hire after watching Orgeron fall flat two years in a row (after going 15-0 in 2019).
LSU athletic director Scott Woodward had interest in Texas A&M's Jimbo Fisher and Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley (who eventually landed at USC). Kelly, however, ended up being the best "big name" coach that Woodward could land.
There's no doubt that Kelly is a good coach. But he's also been on the verge of having things fall apart before at Notre Dame (that 4-8 season in 2016 is a stain on Kelly's resumé).
LSU is a different beast than Notre Dame. A 4-8 season will get you fired in Baton Rouge. Coach O won a natty two years ago and now he's essentially doing TV interviews about Joe Burrow as a full-time job. There will be no honeymoon at LSU for Kelly.
Unfortunately for Kelly, he's already had some red flags during his first few months on the job — and we're not even talking about his brutal fake southern accent.
Here are three signs we've already seen from Kelly that lead us to believe he's doomed to fail as the Tigers' head coach.
1. Letting cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond leave for Florida
Corey Raymond has been an intricate part of LSU's coaching staff for nearly 10 years.
And Kelly let him go to Florida…the Tigers' SEC East crossover opponent every year.
Raymond, a New Iberia, LA native who played at LSU, is the reason the Tigers have the reputation of being "DBU". He's recruited numerous star players to LSU, including Derek Stingley, Elias Ricks (now at Alabama), Kristian Fulton, Grant Delpit, Sage Ryan, Jamal Adams, Tre'Davious White, and Donte Jackson, among many others.
There isn't a better man to coach cornerbacks in Baton Rouge.
Kelly, though, let Raymond walk and replaced him with someone who has never coached cornerbacks at the collegiate level. Robert Steeples, the Tigers' new cornerbacks coach, was an assistant special teams coach for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. Before that, he was a high school in Missouri for five seasons.
Tigers fans should be furious at this move. There's no reasonable explanation that excuses Kelly for letting a key assistant, who has LSU in his blood, leave for a rival.
2. Not doing a better job of vetting assistant coach Frank Wilson
News broke this past week that assistant coach Frank Wilson, a former Tigers assistant who was rehired by Kelly in December, was named in an ongoing sexual harassment lawsuit (which centers on Wilson's time at LSU under Les Miles).
You can read all of the lawsuit details here.
When Kelly hired Wilson, a New Orleans native, it seemingly mitigated the loss of Raymond. Wilson is a beloved figure in Louisiana high schools, which made him a great option for Kelly, someone who has no experience recruiting in The Boot.
But Kelly could've done a better job of vetting Wilson. We have no idea if the allegations against Wilson are true or not. But considering the Title IX issues that LSU has been dealing with that date back to the Les Miles era, you'd think Kelly and the Tigers' athletic department would want to stay away from anyone who might be named in that lawsuit (at least until there's more clarity).
If Kelly is already being shortsighted in his hires, it's probably not a good sign that he'll have a handle on this type of stuff in the future. And that could be disastrous for LSU.
3. Pursuing Jayden Daniels with three SEC starting-caliber QBs on the roster
LSU received some good news on Sunday when Arizona State star quarterback Jayden Daniels committed to the Tigers.
But is this actually good news for the Tigers?
Daniels was one of the most coveted players in the NCAA transfer portal. He's a former four-star recruit who was rated as the No. 35 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class.
It goes without saying that Daniels isn't coming to LSU to be a backup. He's coming with the intention of winning the starting job.
That means LSU is going to have a four-man quarterback battle this spring. Daniels will compete with redshirt senior Myles Brennan, sophomore Garrett Nussmeier, and true freshman Walker Howard (who might be the most talented of all the quarterbacks on the roster).
Not all of these quarterbacks will be on the roster when the 2022 season begins. At least one of these players will hit the transfer portal. Maybe more.
If Daniels wins the job, I think Nussmeier hits the portal. And Brennan could, too. Brennan actually planned to leave LSU for his final season of eligibility but eventually elected to return. If he wants a shot in the NFL, he needs to start somewhere in 2022.
On top of the possible roster attrition, this move could also create some locker room issues. We already saw Ed Orgeron almost lose the locker room in 2018 when he named Joe Burrow the starter. Orgeron was fortunate that he had a generational quarterback in Burrow, who is one of the best leaders we've ever seen. Burrow calmed the locker room drama…eventually.
Kelly could face a similar situation in 2022. Only he doesn't have Burrow to save the team.
Sometimes less is more. And I think there's a good chance Kelly learns that the hard way in 2022.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
