Paul Finebaum believes LSU got it right by hiring Brian Kelly over Billy Napier

The narrative around Brian Kelly has shifted drastically over the course of this college football season. His hire was questioned at times and some justified that position with LSU’s opening loss to Florida State. Besides a blowout loss to a top-notch Tennessee team, though, the Tigers have played fairly well in Kelly’s inaugural season in Baton Rouge. LSU’s latest win over then No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday only further proved to Paul Finebaum how correct the Tigers were to hire Kelly this offseason.

Finebaum discussed Kelly’s hiring and early success in Baton Rouge during a Week 8 recap from ESPN. He says those at LSU should be ecstatic they have Kelly in comparison to, say, Billy Napier at Florida, who was another potential hire for the school. To this point, the criticism now seems unfair considering the team’s 6-2 overall start in 2022.

CLICK HERE to subscribe for FREE to the On3 YouTube channel

“The quick backstory is Napier was in Lafayette. LSU did not want him and Florida did,” said Finebaum. “Scott Woodward was telling me on Friday afternoon about the coaching search…They were pretty happy to get Brian Kelly. By far he was the hire in the offseason that a lot of people hated. And it was coming from Notre Dame fans too.”

Again, besides the opening loss to the Seminoles and their 40-17 defeat to the Volunteers, the Tigers have looked good. They’ve won their six games by an average of 23.3 points per game and are 4-1 against SEC competition. Their win over the Rebels now has them sitting second overall in the SEC West.

Notre Dame’s 4-3 record on the season leaves them with no room to talk in Finebaum’s opinion. Based on the early returns from Kelly at LSU and Marcus Freeman with the Fighting Irish, the Tigers appear to be the team that’s better off to this point.

“Think how miserable Notre Dame fans have to be right now?,” Finebaum said. “To see Brian Kelly doing well? And in two weeks playing in one of the bigger games of the SEC season?”

Finebaum is correct about the schedule. After LSU’s bye next week, Kelly and his team will host No. 6 Alabama in a game that could potentially decide the division. It took some time to get the ball rolling but, after winning six of their last seven, it seems to be rolling in the right direction for Kelly at his new home.