Brian Kelly Continues to Fail at LSU

Originally posted on Mike Farrell Sports
By Mark Pszonak | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 3:22 PM ET

When Brian Kelly was hired by No. 10 LSU (5-2) after the 2021 season, it raised some eyebrows. While he experienced plenty of success at Cincinnati and then Notre Dame, there were some immediate concerns. Most of those concerns revolved around Kelly’s ability to adjust to the culture of the SEC and Louisiana. After today’s loss at No. 17 Vanderbilt (6-1) that adjustment just got even more difficult.

Kelly has now coached 47 games at LSU, but he is still considered an outsider by many. And that is magnified after losses like todays against Vanderbilt. If LSU was playing an exciting brand of football and competing annually for the SEC title, then nobody would care if Kelly was born in Baton Rouge or Mongolia. But that isn’t happening.

Oct 18, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia (2) runs with the ball against the Louisiana State Tigers during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Today’s loss puts LSU at 2-2 in the SEC, with their wins coming against South Carolina (3-3) and Florida (2-4). Their other loss came at No. 13 Ole Miss, meaning that they’ve lost both games against winning teams

And that’s where another problem lies. LSU’s next two games are at home against No. 4 Texas A&M (6-0) and at No. 6 Alabama (5-1). With the way the offense has played this season, would anyone be surprised if the Tigers were 5-4 after the game against the Tide?

If that does happen, Kelly’s lack of acceptance will be the least of his problems, because his seat will be scorching hot at that point. This was supposed to be a season with legitimate title aspirations, not just SEC but also National. Now, the Tigers are more likely to be playing in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl than they are in the National Championship.

But this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone at LSU considering in his first three seasons Kelly led the Tigers to the Citrus Bowl, ReliaQuest Bowl and Texas Bowl. That isn’t acceptable in Baton Rouge, especially considering Kelly’s $10M salary this season.

Kelly was hired by LSU to bring them back to national relevance, but he failed. And there are no signs that this will change in the foreseeable future.

This article first appeared on Mike Farrell Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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