Brian Kelly hot seat: Assessing how crucial Texas A&M game is for LSU head coach

The LSU Tigers came into the 2025 season with massive expectations on their shoulders. Now, sitting at 5-2, there’s an anxiousness that they won’t live up to those expectations, which is falling on the shoulders of head coach Brian Kelly.

Kelly now finds himself on the hot seat. The question, however, is just how hot that seat has become. Josh Pate appeared on Get Up on Thursday morning. There, he pushed back on the idea that Kelly is coaching for his job this weekend against Texas A&M, but that doesn’t mean changes aren’t coming.

“He’s coaching for his job this season,” Pate said. “I wouldn’t circle this weekend. I would say this weekend, if they don’t get the job done, there’s a meeting in that building Sunday where some changes on his offensive staff are demanded. Then, the question becomes, does Brian Kelly look around and say, ‘I don’t have to answer to anyone. This is my offensive staff. You do what you feel like you need to do.'”

The offense, led by Garrett Nussmeier, was expected to be the driving force behind LSU this season. After all, Nussmeier was a Heisman contender in the preseason. However, he’s been banged up, and the running game has yet to catch on this year. That’s amounted to an offense that’s scoring just 25.6 points per game. That’s 86th nationally in scoring offense and 12th out of 16 teams in the SEC.

“They’ve been woeful on offense down there. Unlike some of the changes on the other side of the ball that were probably made organizationally, he is responsible for the current offensive coordinator there and it hasn’t worked out,” Pate said. “And he doesn’t have a lot of equity built up with that fanbase. They don’t particularly feel him right now.”

When Kelly was hired by LSU, he set national championships as the expectation. That made sense. After all, the previous three coaches at LSU had all managed to win one. So, now in his fourth season there, the fact that the Tigers have yet to make the College Football Playoff has fans frustrated. A third loss before the calendar turns to November would make getting there this season almost impossible.

“In the building, I don’t think it’s the best vibes right now. I could see this shifting very violently, but right now they’re 5-2. It’s not like a Florida situation. It’s not off the rails. Mathematically, they’re still in the Playoff hunt. So, it’s like this no man’s land of hot seat talk,” Pate said. “But it’s LSU and it could go sideways very quickly.”

LSU hosts Texas A&M this Saturday. There, Tigers will need to pull off an upset. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.