How Brian Kelly is 'fitting in' at LSU
ATLANTA — As a collective, the college football media has become obsessed with fit regarding coaches and job openings.
If coach X’s personality and background don’t match school Y’s culture and history, then it’s oftentimes deemed an immediate mismatch. A marriage doomed to fail.
Why is that?
History tells us fit is all relative. Sure, some coaches + some jobs = poor fits. But if a coach actually knows how to coach, and that coach can actually develop talent, and can actually recruit elite players and connect with a community, he’ll figure out how to fit in.
Just ask Nick Saban, who was deemed a strange hire by LSU more than 20 years ago. Instead, folks were flat wrong, as Saban ignited the Tigers’ program, with their last three coaches all winning a national title.
Meanwhile, LSU just fired a coach in Ed Oregeon, who many believed was the perfect fit for the Bayou Bengals with his Cajun background and gumbo in his veins. Instead, folks were wrong again, as Ed O flamed out less than two years after winning a championship.
Which brings us to Brian Kelly, who many currently believe the Midwesterner is a poor fit for the program that dons Purple & Gold. The all-time winningest coach in Notre Dame history stunned the college football world this offseason when he bolted South Bend for Baton Rouge, as the move was immediately panned.
Well, despite Kelly continuing his bad (humorless) bit about football, food and family — mercifully without the awful faux accent this time — in his debut at SEC Media Days, you know who believes Brian Kelly is a good fit for LSU?
Brian Kelly, as well LSU’s administration and several current Tigers players who spoke on the issue on Day 1 in Atlanta.
“Fit is about the ability to run a program at the highest level,” Kelly said in his first media days appearance since 2009 when Cincinnati was a member of the Big East.
“I’ve done it for 32 years. I’ve had success at Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Central Michigan, wherever I’ve been. So running a program and then player development, I think those are the most important things. I don’t think that needs to be geographical in a sense. I’ve gotten to love where I’m at in Baton Rouge. I love the people. They love football. They love family. They love food. That fits me really well. I guess I should have been in the South all along.”
It’s perfectly fine to eye-roll Kelly’s closing comments, but his initial answer was spot on. Brian Kelly has engineered successes everywhere he’s been, so why can’t he deliver results at LSU? He’s a CEO-leader, and a proven politician. He’s someone who can schmooze with the best of them.
Always with a plan. Always with a purpose.
Despite no strong Southern affiliations, Kelly shrewdly sought a fresh start at a school he believes gives him a stronger chance to compete for a national title. He’s right.
At the same time, LSU AD Scott Woodward plucked Kelly away from Notre Dame because he believes Kelly’s differences (i.e. those fit complications so many are worried about) are exactly what the Tigers need to reboot their program on solid footing. Current Tigers believe Woodward is right, too.
“Kelly’s resume speaks for itself,” Tigers outside linebacker BJ Ojulari told On3.
“He’s a winning coach. He knows how to win and that’s going to attract recruits from anywhere. At Notre Dame, they had a great culture, they have a great culture still, and I think he’s gonna bring his own little flavor into recruitment. That’s gonna attract high-level recruits. He’s not trying to be anybody else. He has a plan, and he’s sticking to the plan on how he knows how to win.”
LSU wideout Jack Bech, who was unsure of the hire when it was first announced, concurred Monday, “As I looked into a little bit, I didn’t think that could have been a better fit. His past track record, the way he can transform and evolve a team. I just think it is unlike many others in the college football spectrum.”
Bech added to On3, “100%, being in the walls and seeing everything he’s done, 100% I don’t think there could have been somebody better we could’ve hired.”
It’s natural to be skeptical about Kelly’s hire as he continues to learn about Louisiana culture. On Monday, he joked about a recent fishing trip where he finally caught something — “because down here they just jump in your boat.” He’s still protesting a little too much on just how much he loves crawfish etouffee and grilled oysters.
And yet, Kelly clearly has a keen awareness for detail, structure and accountability. He understands — despite his fish-out-of-water background — the importance of recruiting the state of Louisiana. He’s embraced NIL and addressed LSU’s cultural issues head-on.
Notably, all three Tigers representatives in Atlanta spoke about how much more organized the new regime is — particularly when it comes to academics, nutrition and strength & conditioning. LSU was plagued by those very behind-the-scenes issues during the final days of the Ed O operation, so by addressing those battles immediately, Kelly has quickly built trust within the football building.
“It’s a two-way street,” he said.
“We must take what we did wrong the last couple of seasons and make it better this season,” Ojulari added.
“So we do not repeat the same mistakes.”
We’ll know in due time whether Kelly is truly the right fit for LSU. Year 1 should be plenty interesting, as LSU’s roster currently exists in extremes. The Tigers have a brutal schedule, opening with FSU on Sept. 4 and then playing as many as six preseason Top 25 teams. But Kelly isn’t shying away from expectations, believing the initial “eye-test” is vital for fans, alumni, recruits and his current team all at the same time.
That’s how he plans to fit in initially.
“The eye test is really important in Year One,” Kelly told On3.
“You’ve got to be able to look at the football team that we’re putting on the field in Year One with a number of different moving parts. In other words, freshmen that are going to have to play transfers and look at it and say, ‘Wow, this team is well-coached. It’s disciplined for four quarters. They may be a little bit short here. They may be a little bit inexperienced here, but wow, this is gonna be a good football team.’
“So we’ve got to pass the eye test. Because Louisiana State University fans are like many others. They’re smart. They know what good football looks like. If we go out there, and we’re sloppy, and we’re disconnected and we’re not well coached. Then we get what we deserve.”