Paul Finebaum, Heather Dinich push back on Brian Kelly being on the hot seat

The topic of the hot seat came up with LSU’s Brian Kelly yesterday with him in attendance first for SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Monday. However, some held that thought off a bit yesterday and a few did so again this morning, namely Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich at ESPN.

Finebaum and Dinich, both of who are in attendance at media days, were each asked about Kelly being on a hot seat in Baton Rouge while on ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday. Dinich answered first saying he isn’t, at least for now pending what the Tigers do this season with the expectations they have for this fall.

“No…I was going to say only if this season is so underwhelming. Then I think it’s a fair question for next year in the offseason,” said Dinich. “He’s built it up. He has. He has set the expectation and the bar so high as to contend for a national title this year. So, if they fall below his expectations in an underwhelming way, then I think it’s a fair question next season.”

Finebaum, who fully refuted this yesterday on ‘McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning’ as well, did so again today with his answer. This morning’s answer, though, more so focused on what the program is doing on the recruiting trail, with a top-ten class currently committed to them in the next recruiting cycle, as the reasoning as to why he wouldn’t be out after this season – unless it does just go completely wrong.

“No…Yeah, no, I was jumping the gun to take somebody off the hot seat, which is unusual for me,” said Finebaum. “The point being that he’s recruiting so well. He just landed the number one player in the country. He’s got an amazing recruiting class and I think his roster is built for the future. It would take a disaster for Brian Kelly to be on the hot seat after this season.”

The Bayou Bengals are again expecting to contend for the SEC Championship and for a title in the College Football Playoff. However, even if they don’t, Kelly, barring a mess considering the wins he does have and work he has done over four years as head coach, sounds to be pretty safe to Finebaum and Dinich.

Finebaum emphatically pushes back on Kelly on hot seat: ‘That is not happening’

LSU again finished shy of qualifying for the College Football Playoff in 2024. It also marked the first time in three seasons that Brian Kelly hadn’t led LSU to a 10-win season.

Given his reputation as one of the longtime successful coaches in the sport, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that some fans are getting impatient in Baton Rouge. Paul Finebaum doesn’t see Kelly, even if he should have achieved more to this point of his tenure, on any type of hot seat, however.

“Brian Kelly is not on any hot seat. Read my lips. That is not happening,” Finebaum said during an appearance on ‘McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning’ at SEC Media Days on Monday.

“What has happened is that, because of who he is and where he came from, people expect instant success, which is fine. That’s expected of everyone at that level. And I think most would agree, including Brian Kelly, that last year was a setback. I mean, there were some games when they just looked miserable, notably the Alabama game, other games, Texas A&M in the second half. So I think because of this, because of who he is, people are going to say, well, he hasn’t gone to the playoffs.”