Brian Kelly opens up on transition from Notre Dame to LSU

Many were shocked when Brian Kelly up and left Notre Dame for LSU, and more didn’t think it would work out for the Tigers.

At the moment, Kelly’s making his doubters eat crow, as he had a highly successful first season in Baton Rouge. Braving the challenges of changing his accent and overcoming bad dance moves, Kelly brought the Tigers to the SEC title game in Year 1, and he’s only looking to improve moving forward.

Joining Barstool Sports’ Bussin with the Boys, Kelly elaborated on the transition from the Fighting Irish to LSU, which of course had to have been a culture shock.

“Well, it was definitely a change, but it was a great change for me, in the sense of you’re in the Midwest, you know it’s certainly — Notre Dame was a great experience, but this is so much different relative to the day-to-day,” explained Kelly. “As you can see, I’m a lot more relaxed. I don’t have my tie on today. It’s just a relaxed, comfortable environment, and it’s about people. It’s about food. It’s about football.

“At this time in my career, this was just a great stop for me. It’s been really enjoyable.”

Still, many believed Notre Dame was close to a title, or at least the College Football Playoff under Kelly, but it’s evident the Tigers leader believed he had a better shot at a trophy at LSU.

“I think that’s overblown a little bit,” added Kelly. “We weren’t right in the middle of it. We kind of knew where we were going to be, in terms of that, but that’s neither here nor there. I think what’s most important was, LSU and their leadership, Scott Woodward, I’ve known Scott for quite some time. Familiar with him. Certainly wanting to be in the SEC. You’re talking about, each and every week, playing against you know, [Nick] Saban and [Kirby] Smart and you know, the great teams in this conference. I wanted to be measured by the best. Coming down here and playing against them. I had never done that.

“So you know, it was one of those opportunities for me, that allowed me to come to a university that had slipped from it’s standards, you know, having won a national championship in ’19. So the opportunity was there, and then getting a chance to be with the right people.”

Alas, much was made of Brian Kelly’s move, but it’s paid off in spades for both LSU and the head coach. The Tigers will certainly be a team to watch moving forward under their leader’s guidance.