It's Not Over Yet For Brian Kelly At LSU, But The Clock Is Ticking Loudly

Three weeks ago, the LSU football team was riding high. It was undefeated in SEC play, on a six-game winning streak following its opening weekend out-of-conference loss to USC and in control of its own destiny in the race for the College Football Playoff.

Three weeks later, things have changed. The Tigers dropped their third straight game on Saturday night in Gainesville, Florida, where they lost to a sub-.500 Gators team 27-16 that rattled off 17 of the game’s final 20 points.

As a result, the knives are out and pointed directly at third-year head coach Brian Kelly.

Fair? For sure.

The fall from grace that began when it squandered a halftime lead to Texas A&M to start the losing streak has been staggering. The Tigers look ill-prepared for the spotlight and are wildly undisciplined. What’s more, their perceived strength - the offensive line - gave up seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss on Saturday. For perspective, they gave up only six sacks and 29 tackles for loss in the previous nine games combined.

Florida’s official X account even took a shot at him after the game.

All of this is on Kelly, and should scare the daylights out of fans and administrators in Baton Rouge. Kelly’s streak of seven straight double-digit win seasons is over.

That’s just it, though. A coach who wins 10 or more games per season on a consistent basis is a luxury, even for a team like LSU that has championship expectations every single season. Why? Because, in the age of a 12-team College Football Playoff, that will likely be the line of delineation in a power conference moving forward. Kelly’s career that includes 11 double-digit win seasons at the FBS level suggests that he will hit that mark more times than not.

It’s easy to say "fire everybody" in the midst of a losing streak. That passion is what makes college football great. However, LSU fans, don’t be prisoners of the moment. Bringing those knives down on Kelly right now, without having a better replacement, can do more harm than good.

Look at the opposing sideline, for example. Florida coach Billy Napier was on the hottest seat on the planet before the season, and didn’t do himself any favors by getting blown out by Miami and Texas A&M in Weeks 1 and 3, respectively. Look at what happened, though. The administration did something crazy … let him coach.

Kelly, more than a lot of other coaches in the country, deserves the benefit of the doubt.

For now, anyway. 

Next year will be a different story. His quest to curry favor with the Tiger faithful will begin on the recruiting trail and, specifically, within the transfer portal. He notoriously scoffed at the idea of "buying players" last offseason, and that will likely have to change. Beyond that, SEC title and a berth in the College Football Playoff need to be within reach on Thanksgiving weekend in 2025.

If they aren’t, then it’ll be time to cut the cord.