Another massive coaching change is reportedly happening in college football. Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports reports that LSU is expected to hire current Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly. Thamel adds that an announcement “could come as early as [Tuesday].”
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg has confirmed the news.
Update: Details have emerged on Kelly’s salary.
Kelly, 60, has led Notre Dame to an 11-1 record this season. They came in at No. 6 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings. It’s Kelly’s fifth straight double-digit win season at Notre Dame, after he became the school’s head coach ahead of the 2010 season. He joined Notre Dame after leading Cincinnati to a 12-0 record in 2009.
LSU announced in October that they had mutually agreed to part ways with head coach Ed Orgeron, despite Orgeron leading the Tigers to a national championship in January of 2020.
On Nov. 22, Kelly was asked about the possibility of ever leaving Notre Dame:
Well, it appears the fairy godmother has arrived for Kelly.
And this news comes just one day after Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC.
Here’s a sampling of the reaction to Kelly reportedly leaving Notre Dame for LSU:
https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1465487040682864653
Mental image: Brian Kelly, the single most cop head coach in college football, interacting with the LSU fanbase
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) November 30, 2021