Just five years ago, Brian Kelly, the most decorated coach in Notre Dame’s lengthy history, left the school for Louisiana State University. This move sparked a coaching carousel that affected the entire college football world. Five years later, on Oct. 26, Kelly was dismissed midseason from LSU, placing his career squarely under the public spotlight.
Kelly began his coaching career with success at Grand Valley State University, where he worked his way up through the coaching ranks and eventually became head coach. Kelly led GVSU to back-to-back Division II national championships in 2002 and 2003. His success at the Division II level garnered him a head coaching offer with the Division I Central Michigan Chippewas in 2004, the Cincinnati Bearcats in 2006 and eventually the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2010.
Although Kelly’s tenure at Notre Dame began in a shaky manner, posting 8-5 and 8-4 seasons in back-to-back years, in 2012, Kelly had his most successful season as a coach, leading Notre Dame to a perfect, 12-0 season, and earning the Bowl Championship Series No. 1 national rank. Led by Kelly under his new title of National Coach of the Year, Notre Dame made it all the way to the National Championship, where they took on Alabama, but lost 42-14.
Kelly continued to lead the Fighting Irish to winning seasons throughout the 2010s, and by his final season in 2021, Kelly had earned the most wins of any head coach in Notre Dame’s history. However, throughout his time at The University of Notre Dame, his strict, CEO–style approach to coaching led to mishaps, including the tragic death of Declan Sullivan, a team videographer, during a windy outdoor practice that Kelly insisted on holding.
According to Fox Sports, Kelly was disconnected from his players and staff, including Sullivan, and had no intention of apologizing for this tragic instance in favor of continuing practice efficiency. When Kelly officially declared his departure from Notre Dame to LSU, reactions from players were mixed, and notably, a defensive end, Isaiah Foskey, wrote on Twitter, “Wild, terrible timing, typical Brian.”
Players described Kelly as strict but committed, and LSU knew what they were getting when they landed the biggest head-coaching signee of the 2020s. Kelly’s four seasons of coaching at LSU ended with a record of 10-4 in 2022, 10-3 in 2023, 8-4 in 2024 and a 5-3 record through eight games before his sudden firing in 2025. Kelly’s tenure at LSU included winning records and bowl games. However, Kelly failed to lead the team to any college football playoffs despite his talented roster throughout the years.
According to the New York Times, one of the key factors in Kelly’s lack of success at LSU was his players’ loss of respect for him during his time as head coach. Kelly’s coaching style at LSU consisted of him sitting back and managing from afar, while his coordinators and staff handled the players. At the same time, he dealt with the media and higher-level decisions.
More tragedies occurred during Kelly’s time at LSU, including the devastating suicide of Kyren Lacy.
While in other programs, head coaches might reach out to grieving players or players’ families, it has been reported that Kelly failed to reach out to Lacy’s family and give his condolences.
“I didn’t even get a call or text from [Brian Kelly]. Must be nice to get paid millions to get your walking papers,” Lacy’s father wrote as the news of Kelly’s firing was announced.
The reports of Kelly’s player neglect do not end there. In 2023, LSU captain Greg Brooks Jr. was rushed to the hospital to fight late-stage cancer in the form of a brain tumor. Brooks Jr. was able to survive and successfully get the tumor removed, but the strokes and errors made in the tumor removal process left Brooks Jr. with permanent brain damage and the inability to walk for a year.
The Brooks family criticized Kelly and his LSU training staff after the process, saying that the university never gave Brooks Jr. a proper analysis or diagnosis, leading his cancer to worsen. Kelly’s failure to acknowledge Sullivan, Lacy or Brooks’ families after their tragic accidents showcases his alienation from the players and is a key reason he lost respect not only in Baton Rouge but across the college football world, according to Sports Illustrated’s coverage of the two cases.
Given his lack of playoff success as a coach and poor “off the field” conduct, Kelly’s firing did not come as a surprise, per Sports Illustrated. The end of Kelly’s era of aloof coaching makes way for a new generation of “players’ coaches,” such as Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman, Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning and National Championship-winning Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day.
All of these coaches focus on building deep bonds with their players to foster a winning culture and environment through brotherhood and mutual support. According to ESPN, while Kelly may have built programs, he lacked the player and staff chemistry necessary to coach a winning team, costing him his coaching career.
