Brian Kelly feeling very comfortable entering third year at LSU

Going 20-7, taking a trip to the SEC Championship Game and producing a Heisman winning quarterback have all been barometers of a strong start to the Brian Kelly era at LSU. And the head coach is ready to get things going further in 2024.

Entering Year 3, Kelly feels everyone is more comfortable with the standards and the expectations of his program. In an interview with On3’s J.D. PicKell on The Hard Count, Kelly delved into his Year 3 expectations and vibes.

“Well the standards and the culture feels so much more like what I’m used to,” Kelly said. “But that’s usually what happens in Year 3, for me. Everywhere I’ve been, the third year has been really successful, so I think the third year here is feeling very comfortable in terms of the standards and the expectations and how everybody has really adapted to the style and the expectations.”

In all three prior stops as a Division I head coach, Kelly has led teams to third-year leaps. At Central Michigan, he went from 6-5 to 9-4. His third season at Cincinnati was an 11-3 campaign for Kelly, one he followed up with an undefeated season in Year 4. And Kelly’s third year as the Notre Dame head coach saw the Irish go 12-0 and play in the BCS National Championship game, where they were bullied by Alabama to finish 12-1.

After setting a 10-win baseline at LSU, Kelly hasn’t been shy about what the expectations are around LSU: Compete for SEC and national championships.

“Again, you’ve gotta go do it on the field and you do it with being successful on Saturdays,” Kelly said. “But the day to day really starts to feel like we’re in a really good position.”

Kelly previously said LSU needs to take a step forward in 2024

And joining the Paul Finebaum Show on on Feb. 22, Kelly outlined that a step into the upper-echelon of college football is the goal at LSU.

“So going into Year 3, I think more than anything else, I feel really comfortable with the standards and the way things are being done on a day-to-day basis,” Kelly said. “You can feel it in the building. The players understand the expectations. And clearly we need to take another step up, 10 wins is really, I think, the price of admission where we need to be. But we need to take that next step up here. So I’m happy that we’ve stabilized the program, put it back in a position where it needs to be. Now, it’s taking that next step.”