Brian Kelly responds to job pressure from fans, defends LSU players

Going into halftime, LSU led what had been a close game. Then, disaster struck and Texas A&M jumped the Tigers to the tune of a 21-point third quarter and would pull away to win 49-25. That made for a third loss this season for LSU, and adding to the mounting pressure on head coach Brian Kelly.

After the game, Kelly responded to that growing pressure. He also emphasized the effort that the Tigers have been putting forward to succeed in a way that hasn’t yet transferred onto the field.

“Look, this is an extremely disappointing night,” Brian Kelly said. “Right? The fan base, our fans, are disappointed. Any fan base would be, whether here at LSU or any other school. The head coach, it stops with the head coach. That responsibility falls on me. This is a proud tradition, LSU, they have a proud football team, and the guys that represent us. Like I said, those guys, I was with them, they prepared their tails off this week, and they expected to win. They did that by their actions in the first half. It didn’t show itself in the second half. So, I have to look at reasons why. My focus will be much more on inside-out than outside-in.”

LSU entered the season with College Football Playoff expectations. Now, the Tigers have lost two games in a row and three of their last four. Effectively, it’s a run that’s ended any shot of making the CFP. It’s also put Kelly on the hot seat moving forward.

“I get it. There should be noise, they should be disappointed. I’m disappointed,” Kelly said. “But I have to focus my time inside-out this program so we can make sure this never happens again.”

During the second half, LSU fans broke out into “Fire Kelly” chants from the stands. That made for a tense atmosphere in Death Valley. Of course, it was arguably better than by the end of the game, when the stadium had largely emptied out with the exception of the remaining Texas A&M fans who had seemingly taken over the stadium.

If LSU were going to try buy out Brian Kelly from his contract, it wouldn’t be cheap. The Tigers would owe Kelly $53 million. If they chose to pay that out, it would be the second-largest buyout that college football has ever seen, trailing the Jimbo Fisher buyout of $77 million. It would also surpass the buyout Penn State paid James Franklin this season, amounting to $48.6 million.

The path doesn’t get any easier ahead for Brian Kelly and LSU, either. After a bye week next week to regroup, the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.