Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler discuss legitimacy of Brian Kelly hot seat talk after Texas A&M loss

Things are starting to get uncertain for Brian Kelly at LSU. The Tigers lost 49-25 against No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday, marking their second straight defeat and their third in the past four games.

Fans made their displeasure known, breaking out into a “Fire Brian Kelly” chant in the final quarter of the loss against the Aggies. That led to an interesting discussion between Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler, who were on the call of the game for ESPN.”

Now, obviously a very passionate fanbase,” Fowler said. “When they’re winning, laissez les bons temps rouler, let the good times roll on the bayou. When they’re not, their passion turns to anger, frustration. They want to change everything, including the coach.”

Herbstreit went on to point out that Kelly has a massive buyout of $53 million. The coach is in the middle of his fourth season at LSU with a 34-14 record in that span.

However, the Tigers have yet to make the College Football Playoff under Kelly and, with them suffering their third loss of the season Saturday, that appears unlikely this year. Even so, Herbstreit had to wonder whether there was any validity to thoughts of parting ways with the coach.

“He signed a 10-year, $95 million contract in 2021,” he said. “He’s got a buyout for $53 million, so it that even, I mean besides the fans and the noise, is that even… it’s not real, right?

The truth is, while Kelly’s results from the past few seasons might cut it at other programs, LSU has a much higher standard. This is a school that fired coach Ed Orgeron only two season after he directed the Tigers to a national championship in 2019.

Whether or not any action is taken from LSU, there’s still sure to be plenty of discussion this coming week as to the future of Brian Kelly. Herbstreit and Fowler both agreed that the rumors are about to get “loud” with the season quickly falling apart in Baton Rouge.

“It’ll be loud, very loud,” Fowler said. “Buyouts have not necessarily been something that prevents teams from making a move. Brian Kelly, got a bit of concern, I think he really believes that they’ve got a great recruiting class lined up, believes that they’ll sign. The real weakness of this team, one particular area, is kind of an important one: the offensive line is what’s held it back more than anything.”