Nick Saban believes LSU's Brian Kelly can handle the pressure of 2024

There's pressure on LSU head coach Brian Kelly heading into 2024.

He came to LSU to win championships. That's why he left a cushy situation at Notre Dame after 12 seasons.

So far, the results have been mixed in Baton Rouge. Year 1 was an expected buffer season and Kelly's Tigers weren't all that bad, going 10-4 with a win in the Citrus Bowl. Year 2 saw quarterback Jayden Daniels win the Heisman Trophy while LSU went 10-3 with a win in the ReliaQuest Bowl over Wisconsin.

That's not bad, but still no College Football Playoff appearances and no championships.

As such, there's pressure on Kelly's Tigers to make the inaugural 12-team CFP this season, but talking at SEC Media Days, legendary coach Nick Saban doesn't think his former colleague feels that pressure.

“Brian is a lot like I was," the former Alabama head coach said, per On3. "He doesn’t worry about expectations. He’s not really worried about what people say and think because he’s done it for a long time. He believes in the process that he has to try to get his team better each and every week. So, he’s not going to pay attention to that. And if you are someone who does pay attention to that, that’s the rat poison that I talk about all the time."

Not only does Saban believe Kelly isn't worried about the pressure and expectations heading into 2024, but he seems to believe that Kelly or any high-level competitor knows that they can't focus on the pressure. It's all about performance when it matters.

“That can really affect your performance and create a tremendous amount of anxiety and affect your decision-making, whether you’re playing quarterback or whether you’re calling plays on the sidelines," Saban explained. "I don’t think Brian will be affected by that at all."

To Saban's point, Kelly has coached in a ton of big games since he entered the scene in 2004. That's 20 years of pressure, so he should be well used to it by now.