Brian Kelly reveals when he found out he was LSU's new coach
Brian Kelly was in L.A. for one school when he found out he was now headed to the other LA for another school.
The LSU head coach said Wednesday during an appearance on the Dan Patrick radio show that he was actually in Los Angeles on a recruiting trip for Notre Dame when he was informed that his team and representatives from the Tigers had come to terms on a deal to make him their next head coach. Kelly was announced Tuesday as the Tigers coach and was in Baton Rouge that evening to speak to the team and officially sign on.
The back-and-forth between him and Patrick explaining the whole situation is definitely worth a listen.
Brian Kelly told us that he was recruiting in LA as #NotreDame Head Coach, and on his way back to South Bend he found out that the deal with #LSU was solidified…#GeauxTigers #FightingIrish pic.twitter.com/xXJpjvmeuU
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) December 1, 2021
“I just think that the whole thing, from getting off a flight yesterday at 5:30 a.m. from the West Coast, talking to the (Notre Dame) team, getting back on a flight, talking to the (LSU) team, it’s just a continuation of closure to starting anew,” Kelly said. “It’s just like one continuous moment in time and you just don’t have time to take a breath.”
To which Patrick asked for clarity: “OK, wait a minute, you’re recruiting in LA yesterday?”
Kelly: “Yes.”
Patrick: “OK, how does that work that you’re recruiting and then… did you get on the plane and find our you’re taking over LSU?”
Kelly: “Yes. Yeah. This is crazy”
Patrick: “So you’re recruiting as Notre Dame’s head coach, get on a plane en route back to South Bend, you find out that this deal has been solidified?”
Kelly: “Yessir. True story.”
Patrick: “Who was on the plane with you?”
Kelly: “Uh, my attorney.”
Patrick: “That’s smart.”
Kelly: “And two pilots.”
Patrick: “That would be the heads up, though. If your attorney is on the flight, Coach, that’s not your normal recruiting trip.”
Kelly: “No, I know, but we picked him up at the airport because it was already starting to leak out.”
Patrick: “So you land and all of a sudden you’re no longer Notre Dame’s head coach, and now you have to… And then an hour-and-a-half later you, what, have to get your kids together?”
Kelly: “Yeah, we had sent out a text before we left Orange County and let them know that we’d have a 7 a.m. team meeting.”
Patrick: “Did you follow up with the recruits to say, ‘Hey, if you’re not interested in Notre Dame, you can join me at LSU?”
Kelly: “Of course not, Dan. Of course not. What is this? I’m talking to Judge Judy now.”
Patrick: “I would do that. I mean, are you kidding me? Lincoln Riley’s bringing players who de-committed (from) Oklahoma.”
Kelly: “Well Lincoln can do what Lincoln wants to do, Brian Kelly’s gonna do what he does.”