The already crazy college football practice cycle took a level of insanity on Sunday night when LSU made the stunning decision to fire Brian Kelly after a 5-3 start by 2025, resulting in a buyout of more than $50 million.
Kelly didn't fail in Baton Rouge. He finished his term with an overall record of 34–14. But he never made the playoffs or came close to winning the SEC championship.
Expectations for whoever succeeds Kelly will be incredibly high. LSU will be the best job available this cycle, and for good reason: Three coaches before Kelly won national championships. These are a few candidates that make sense in Baton Rouge after talking with industry sources.
Top candidates
Lane Kiffin, HC, Ole Miss
Already at the center of one of the searches for a blue-blood coach, Kiffin could find himself in the middle of three SEC heavyweights. The rebels want to fire him. Florida wants him to be its next head coach. Now, Kiffin is the most popular name when you talk to industry insiders about potential replacements in Baton Rouge. Kiffin has all the experience needed to succeed in the SEC and demonstrates the ability to turn the Rebels into an annual SEC contender. Kiffin would be a ready replacement for Kelly, a man whose offensive acumen could instantly elevate the Tigers.
Lane Kiffin's big win over Oklahoma is great news for Ole Miss, but bad news for Florida's coaching search.
John Talty
Joe Brady, OK, Buffalo Bills
A former 29-year-old offensive coordinator on LSU's 2019 national championship team, the now 36-year-old Brady has half a decade of NFL experience and is a rising head coaching candidate in those circles. Brady has previously been hesitant to return to college, but will one of the top coaching jobs in the country be enough to lure him back to the place where he first began his rise? Penn State is also eyeing Brady this season.
James Franklin, former Penn State coach
Franklin is the most qualified coach on the open market despite his split with Penn State earlier this year. As a head coach, he won 68% of his games, leading Penn State and Vanderbilt to amazingly successful runs. But would LSU really hire another coach from the Midwest with few ties to the Southeast? I'm not sure this contract will excite the fans.
John Sumrall, HC, Tulane
A former SEC linebacker who spent his entire career in the Southeast, Sumrall has done nothing but win since becoming the head coach in 2022. He went 23-4 in two seasons with Troy and is now 15-6 in a season and a half with Tulane. There is no bigger name among Big Five head coaches, and Sumrall is expected to be among those taking over at Auburn. But would LSU really want to hire a Tulane head coach? I'm not sure it will cause enough of a stir.
Marcus Freeman, HC, Notre Dame
If you look at LSU athletic director Scott Woodward's history of hiring head coaches in any sport, one thing they have in common is that he makes big moves. He landed Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. He lured Kelly away from Notre Dame. Can he convince another head coach to leave South Bend? Industry sources haven't slammed the door on Freeman's candidacy at Florida, and you could argue that LSU is the better job. It still seems unlikely that Freeman will leave Notre Dame for anything other than the NFL. But if Woodward is going to attack someone, he might as well land a big hit.
This is CRAZY but…
Jimbo Fisher, former Texas A&M coach
Reunited and it feels so good! I know that Fischer's proposal seems absurd. But remember, it was Woodward who recruited Fisher to Texas A&M and believed in him to the point of giving Fisher a historically lucrative contract to lure him away from Florida State. Fischer's star has clearly dimmed. But Woodward aggressively pursued Fisher as he conducted LSU's 2021 search. Fisher has deep ties to LSU and is a national championship-winning coach. This marriage makes a lot of sense if you can ignore Fisher's last two seasons in College Station.
Dabo Swinney, HC, Clemson
And again there are big fluctuations. Swinney is coming off his worst season as Clemson's head coach since 2010. Can Woodward follow his Texas A&M blueprint to lure a national champion to Baton Rouge? Swinney is a proven program builder and seems to fit culturally into LSU in a way Kelly never could. If Swinney wants a fresh start, you could do a lot worse than Baton Rouge. But like Fisher, you might be wondering whether Swinney would be a compelling enough candidate at this point in his career.
Nick Saban, former Alabama coach
Look, I said crazy. It wasn't until earlier this week that Saban said, “I want to stay retired.” But if there was a job outside of Alabama that could tempt Saban, it would be LSU, where he won his first national championship. Would he take the job if he was offered it? Probably not. But Woodward's history tells you he'll at least ask.
