LSU Coach Brian Kelly Touches On His And Assistants’ Future For 1st Time After Embarrassing Loss To A&M | Glenn Guilbeau

October 26, 2025 Glenn Guilbeau LSU Football News 0
LSU football coach Brian Kelly is at his low point in his four years in Baton Rouge after 49-25 loss to Texas A&M Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. (Tiger Rag photo by Jonathan Mailhes).

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

He didn’t bring it up, but he was ready for it.

After his second consecutive loss and earliest third loss of a season in four years as LSU’s coach following an early No. 3 ranking with what he called his “best (LSU) roster ever,” the subject of coach Brian Kelly’s future surfaced after a humiliating, 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M Saturday night.

“This is my responsibility,” Kelly said when asked about his level of responsibility for the team’s downfall. “It’s impossible for the head coach that’s been here for four years and 35 years of doing this to think anything else. And we’ve got to get it turned around. And that’s not my decision in terms of whether I’m here or not.”

Kelly, who turned 64 Saturday, has six years left on a $100 million contract over 10 years that carries a $53 million buyout for him if he is let go this year. There was no birthday cake seen after the game.

That “decision” will fall mainly on LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, who hired Kelly away from Notre Dame after the 2021 season. Unless LSU’s new, yet-to-be named president inserts himself and takes over that. And perhaps he should, moving Woodward aside.

This is an athletic department doing math with its fingers.

On Friday, in its infinite wisdom, LSU’s athletic department announced a season ticket price hike approved by another group of stooges – the LSU Board of Supervisors – after losing its first game to Vanderbilt since 1990 and falling off pace for the College Football Playoff. This drew the ire of Louisiana governor Jeff Landry after A&M made an Aggie joke out of the Tigers.

“That’s what I will do as a head coach who’s been doing it for over three decades,” Kelly said of his future plans. “When things are not going well from a football standpoint, the head football coach has to be agile enough and able to make those changes, and find out what we need to do to get our football team to play better.”

Kelly, whose No. 20 team fell to 5-3 on the season and 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference with the loss, said everything is subject to change, including his coaching staff. That after he obviously chewed out offensive coordinator Joe Sloan in the press box via the headphones after some poorly conceived pass plays in the red zone at the end of the first half when the Tigers settled for a field goal.

Sloan’s offense has struggled all season in his second year as offensive coordinator after Kelly promoted him following the 2023 season when ultra successful OC Mike Denbrock left to return to Notre Dame. After leading 18-14 at halftime, Sloan’s offense managed only one touchdown in the second half late in the fourth quarter.

LSU’s defense has too been weak over the last two weeks as it allowed 400 yards to Vanderbilt in a 31-24 loss before 426 this week. Second-year defensive coordinator Blake Baker’s unit continues to be torched by dual-threat quarterbacks as Marcel Reed rushed for 108 and two touchdowns while throwing for 202 and two touchdowns. Diego Pavia rambled for 86 and two touchdowns last week for Vanderbilt and threw for 160 and a TD.

Reed and his teammates were motivated by former LSU strength coach Tommy Moffitt, whom Kelly did not retain at LSU in 2022 and has been at A&M since 2024. The Aggies lead the Tigers, 66-13, in the last two second halves under Moffitt’s conditioning – 31-6 in a 38-23 win last year and 35-7 Saturday.

“At the end of the day, we just need to be the better team for three hours,” Kelly said last week. He was half right.

Last week at an A&M practice, Moffitt put a picture of Kelly on a tackling dummy. And the Aggies clearly tackled better than LSU’s flag football defense and special teams.

“This is about how you get your football team to play better, so I have to evaluate everything,” Kelly said. “From top down.”

As far as that “top” part, Woodward may help Kelly evaluate Kelly. Any evaluation of Kelly will include his hiring of coaches like Sloan and Baker, who are not off to flying starts, and not retaining Moffitt – one of the best strength coaches in the business for decades. Kelly in 2022 also hired defensive coordinator Matt House, who was a major failure in 2023. His first special teams coach, Brian Polian, was another disastrous failure in 2022.

What’s amazing about Kelly’s recent struggles with his hire choices is the fact that he is in so much trouble now because of two of his former great hires.

BRIAN KELLY FORMER HIRES HAUNTING HIM

Vanderbilt rising head coach Clark Lea, who started Kelly on this tailspin last week in Nashville, was tapped by Kelly after the 2016 season when he was linebackers coach at Wake Forest. Lea was Kelly’s linebackers coach at Notre Dame in 2017 and its defensive coordinator from 2018-20 before getting the Vanderbilt job. And Texas A&M rising head coach is Mike Elko, whom Kelly also hired from Wake Forest after the 2016 season when he was defensive coordinator there. Elko was Kelly’s DC in 2017 before leaving for that post at Texas A&M. He was successful as Duke’s head coach from 2022-23 before moving on to the Aggies.

“Everything we do, and how we do it – primarily on the football end of things,” Kelly said. “That involves making those decisions that will allow this football team to play at a higher level. So, I have to do some work on that. And come up with the solutions.”

Kelly was asked if that means evaluating his coaches. Coaches such as Sloan, Baker, new special teams coach Aman Anand, who had a horrendous night Saturday, and offensive line coach Brad Davis, who was retained by Kelly from the losing staff of former coach Ed Orgeron.

“Of course,” Kelly said. “I mean you’re going to evaluate everything.”

Davis’ offensive line has done poorly with the run game for two straight seasons now, and last year that line had four future NFL draft picks.

“I think you have to look at everything we do offensively, everything that is being done defensively,” Kelly said. “Special teams was atrocious.”

A 79-yard punt return by Texas A&M gave it a 28-18 lead in the third quarter, and it was over. The Aggies ran the third quarter kickoff back 43 yards to set up their go-ahead TD drive from their 44.

“All those things fall on me, so that’s what I have to fix,” Kelly said. “And we have to do that immediately.”

Wow. So, don’t be surprised if there are staff changes or adjustments this week during an open date before LSU plays at No. 6 Alabama on Nov. 8.

“My focus will be much more on inside out, than outside in,” Kelly said. “And I get it. There should be noise. They should be disappointed. I’m disappointed. But I have to really focus my time inside out with the program, so we can make sure this never happens again.”

Heads are going to roll before Kelly’s does, or he gets the team better.

“This is an extremely disappointing night, and our fans are disappointed, like any fan base would be,” he said. “It stops with the head coach, and so that responsibility falls with me.”

And with Scott Woodward, unless someone decides Woodward’s head should roll for about $100 million reasons.

Because he hired Kelly.

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