O'Gara: Here's the problem with Brian Kelly's comments about LSU not 'buying' players
There’s a time and place for what Brian Kelly said. Or rather, what Kelly tried to say.
Let’s back up for a minute because proper context is needed to dissect why the LSU coach made headlines for what would previously be considered a standard cliché coach quote in early May.
On the heels of missing out on coveted transfer portal defensive tackles Damonic Williams (he picked Oklahoma) and Simeon Barrow Jr. (he picked Miami), Kelly did an interview with WAFB’s Jacques Doucet in which the soundbite that made the rounds was “we’re not going to go out and buy players.”
In 2024, that was not the time or place to say that.
Obviously, there was more than that single line. Here is the full sequence from the interview with Doucet:
Doucet: “So the interior D-linemen, where are you right now with that?”
Kelly: “Well, I think I made it pretty clear in a number of the press conferences I had that we were in the market in recruiting in the transfer portal looking for defensive linemen. It hasn’t fared very well quite frankly because we’re selling something a little bit differently. And that is, we want to recruit, we want to engage, we want to build relationships, we want to develop, retain and have success. We’re not in the market of buying players. And unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought.
“Look. I understand that NIL is part of this, and we have an incredible collective. We have very, very generous opportunities around the greater Baton Rouge area for NIL opportunities. They are here. But we’re not gonna go out and buy players. That’s not what this is about. This was never about that. We will develop you, we will get you ready for the next step, as we did with Jayden Daniels, as we did with Malik Nabers, as we did with Brian Thomas. We developed 3 defensive linemen that all got drafted this year, and we’ll do that again.
“But if you’re just looking to get paid, you’re looking in the wrong place. If you like all the things we do here, and developing our players, bringing you into a championship program, playing in front of the best fan base in America, playing for championships and having an opportunity for NIL, you should be a Tiger. But if you just want to get paid, it’s not the place for ya.”
.@JacquesDoucet : Where are you right now w/the defensive line recruiting?
Brian Kelly: “It’s hasn’t fared very well quite frankly because we are selling something a little bit differently…
We are not in the market of buying players.”
LSU HC sends a STRONG message via @WAFB pic.twitter.com/HO8zfwdRsZ
— Carter Bryant (@PowerHourLSU) May 7, 2024
There’s a lot to break down in that. A lot.
For starters, yes, LSU whiffed in a key area of need in the portal. After Maason Smith, Jordan Jefferson and Mekhi Wingo were selected in the NFL Draft, Jacobian Guillory was the lone interior defensive lineman on LSU’s roster who played at least 50 snaps last year. He was a rotational guy who played 30 snaps in a game once. That’s for an LSU team that didn’t sign a single interior defensive lineman in the 2023 class.
Landing Williams, Barrow or even Kent State defensive lineman CJ West, who committed to Indiana on Wednesday, would’ve been a nice boost at a position of need after LSU was woefully bad on defense in 2023.
Kelly bluntly said those guys got more money elsewhere, and that’s why they didn’t come to LSU. Kelly admitted their pursuits came up short, seemingly in that all-important area.
What Kelly’s comment fails to acknowledge is that LSU had a seat at the table with those coveted defensive tackles because of all the things he mentioned — the atmosphere, the culture, the path to the NFL, etc. But yeah, maybe once the list is narrowed to a handful of schools that also check those boxes, money tipped the scales.
That doesn’t mean Kelly is failing at his job or that he’s destined to get fired in a couple of years. Kelly gutted his entire defensive staff. He poached Mizzou defensive coordinator Blake Baker to make him the highest-paid assistant in America and also brought highly regarded Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis back to Baton Rouge. Those changes should still be a net positive coming from a coach who understands that defensive improvements are paramount.
It should, however, frustrate a fan base to hear Kelly speak about roster shortcomings like that, much like last year when preseason All-American Harold Perkins unsuccessfully got his feet wet at a new position in a season-opening game with major Playoff implications.
LSU had a clear area of need. Kelly admitted that, and he clumsily admitted that money stood in the way of addressing that need. He could’ve simply said, “I studied the market and didn’t feel those guys were worth what they sought.”
Fans can deal with coming up short on the field. When LSU came up short against Georgia in the SEC Championship in Kelly’s first season, there was a consensus feeling that loss was easier to stomach because it came on the heels of winning the SEC West and it earned that opportunity a year removed from having 39 scholarship players in a bowl game. Georgia was the eventual 15-0 national champ and Jayden Daniels was knocked out of the game before halftime. It happens.
What title-hungry fan bases don’t want to hear is that their team came up short off the field for financial reasons, especially not from the coach working on the $95 million contract after he replaced the guy who got paid $17 million to go away.
If the transfer portal and college football as a whole has become free agency, think of it this way: If the New Orleans Saints hosted some big-time free agents on a visit but then missed out, picture coach Dennis Allen getting in front of a microphone and saying that “yeah, the guys we wanted just didn’t buy into our culture and they went elsewhere because they got better offers.” He’d get blasted 6 ways to Sunday for a comment like that. Adding to the vitriol would be the fact that Allen isn’t Sean Payton, who won a Super Bowl.
If Kelly already had a ring and he made that comment midseason, it might be met with an eye roll because it comes off as cliché coach-speak. Time and place are everything, though.
The time and place of Mark Stoops’ comments about Georgia “buying” players last year was significant because it came in a postgame press conference after Kentucky got its doors blown off.
“I just encourage them to donate more because that’s what those dudes are doing. I can promise you Georgia, they bought some pretty good players,” Stoops said in Oct. 2023. “You’re allowed to these days. We could use some help.”
Stoops’ comments might not have had a universal approval rating because of the time and place — that gets back to fans not wanting to feel like their team is coming up short off the field for financial reasons — but he didn’t come off as out of touch.
Jimbo Fisher came off out of touch when he went scorched earth on Nick Saban for saying that A&M “bought every player on their team” to land a historic recruiting class in 2022. While there was a certain level of respect for Fisher because he didn’t back down from Saban, there was also the head-scratching response of “we didn’t buy any players” and that A&M didn’t do anything wrong … even though Saban never said that A&M cheated.
Buying players is the world we live in. Adapt or die.
Kelly’s hopes of getting to the 12-team Playoff might not die because of the failed pursuit of coveted defensive tackles. His secondary could derail the Tigers’ chances. Shoot, maybe a few mistake-heavy games from Garrett Nussmeier will be the difference in a Playoff run.
But in 2024, it’s no longer acceptable for coaches to come up short of a title because of clear, addressable deficiencies and then blame it on “the way things are now.”
Kelly hasn’t come up short of a title in the 2024 season yet, nor is it a failed season if LSU can’t get to Atlanta. There’s more margin for error than ever. Maybe we’ll see some flawed teams sneak into the 12-team Playoff and get hot at the right time en route to a title.
As perhaps the best coach without a title, Kelly will continue to be held to a different standard than most. He earned that right. He knew that would be on the table when he signed on the dotted line at LSU. A championship was always his pursuit.
Coming up short of that on the field is one thing, but doing so because of an outdated approach to talent acquisition is an easy way to lose in the court of public opinion.
Sooo….Connor is saying pay whatever you have to in order to get a guy who may end up being a huge bust in the strongest conference? No…I agree with BK’s sentiment that if you want to play for championships, be developed into a high draft pick, then come to LSU. If all you want is money, and we don’t even know how you would fare against the best talent in the country, then no thanks.
Connor is a journalism, ya know!
Cheap shot. A lot of teams that paid obscene amounts for one year wonders and second teamers will soon have to negotiate every game with all the regulars who gutted it through the program to get to a starting role. Conner should have waited for those “pay me more or i will have a hemorrhoid eruption at game time negotiations” conversations. I give Kelly props for getting it right. Conner gets an “F”.
Can’t win, even with a Heisman, Can’t recruit. We are toast.
It’s almost as if we are cursed.
What has he won to say he’s “getting it right?”
I think Connor accurately pointed out the problem with the statement. As fans, we’re supposed to be biased and think our school is special and one of a kind. But to a kid who doesn’t have the same connection, there are a handful of schools where he could go play for championships, be developed, AND get paid. And if BK doesn’t think they’re worth what they’re asking, then that’s what he should’ve said instead.
“easy way to lose in the court of public opinion.”
IE: Idiot journalists smearing people for clicks.
He’s just saying LSU wasn’t going to overpay for these guys. Problem is, the market is the market and lots of teams were looking for DT’s. Can’t blame the players for getting what they could.
That’s the problem with the NIL. Players don’t want to be team members. They have become a million times more self-centered and selfish. They want the millions that won’t be returned if they give a 50% effort or end up being a huge bust.
Wonder what he’d think if AD’s got together and decided “Not to overpay” for mid coaches that have never won anything.
That’s called collusion and is illegal.
That’s what the NCAA did for about 100 years, until they lost in court, just like pro sports did before free agency.
Can’t blame the players, who know they only get a few years to make their fortunes before injuries take their toll. They should take as much as they can now.
However, what all players looking at their options and their futures must decide is whether it makes sense to take more money from Indiana now and pass up an opportunity to be developed into NFL prospects at LSU. Big difference in their development at those two places if their goal is to be drafted by the NFL.
Dawgs2021 is referring to coaches. While it extremely unlikely, it’s not illegal.
His point is a stupid attempt at a troll comment.
“e could’ve simply said, “I studied the market and didn’t feel those guys were worth what they sought.””
Hacks use the word “feel” when describing logic. Try harder, hack. Intelligent people use the word “think” when describing the thought process.
What would you know about intelligent people?
It does look like a hit job. Seems like having three DTs drafted should count for something in recruiting. I agree that it might be better to avoid mercenaries, but LSU still needs DTs.
It’s a tricky balance, because Kelly has other DLs on his roster who are being paid at a certain NIL level. He can’t destroy that pay scale in order to “buy” a DT, or two, for one season, or two. That would poison his locker room.
If you want to see what that type of chaos looks like, read up on the spring TP out of Miami. There’s no way that’s a unified locker room down there.
DT is a position of need so paying a bit more for a proven tackle makes sense but I agree with CBK, if a player is just chasing money without weighing the other factors then good luck to them. It’s not like LSU wasn’t offering NIL at all, they got outbid by Miami and Oklahoma, two schools with deep pockets. I’d be willing to bet neither team is hoisting a trophy this upcoming January, let them throw their money around. This isn’t anywhere close to a Dabo Swinney situation where he’s completely ignoring the transfer portal market, to hear SDS writers though you’d think it was!
Adin Huntington of ULM may be the most proven battle-tested DT left out there. He played great against Power 5 opponents himself, so maybe Kelly and Davis can land him.
If so, it would help us considerably.
I’m hoping for him or CJ West, both guys are dogs!
1. Who thinks the NCAA will let every program buy unlimited players forever?
2. Who thinks that programs who mix paid players with unpaid players will be happy championship atmospheres every year, all year long.
3. The new normal is pay but pretend you don’t pay as much as possible
4 Oh sure, Kelly’s boosters won’t pay players in the State of Louisiana, ha ha
1. The NCAA is a relic of a bygone era. Federal courts and state legislatures have effectively hog-tied and muzzled them.
2. There are very few scholarship players remaining at P4 schools who don’t get some NIL money. However, even the players understand that NFL prospects (about 5% of all P4 players) command more NIL money than the rest. Want to earn more? Play better.
3. That’s how you influence the market as long as the value of deals isn’t published anywhere.
4. Kelly’s boosters do pay, but not many of them like throwing away their money the way aTm boosters have over the last four years.
You’re also starting to see NIL for performance. A highschool stud might command a lot of money to sign as a freshman, but that money is only guaranteed for year 1. If he doesn’t contribute, you’re going to see him transfer in year 2 because that NIL is getting dropped significantly.
Brian Kelly himself was bought while employed at Notre Dame.
Saban says what?
It’s called being hired, it’s what coaches and their staff do. Most Tide fans would agree, I guess you’re a special kind of fan
Dumb comment.
Bama overpaid for Kalen DeBoer
That remains to be seen.
The greater Baton Rouge area? It’s not greater anymore, it’s lesser. St. George saw to that.
This is no time to get chintzy with money. Everyone else is stepping up to the plate and we can either choose to lose or not. Our coach will choose to lose.
Our stadium is suspect as much as our fans and culture. Another season like the last two and we won’t even be able to pay kids enough to come here. When that happens, we will complete our fall back down to our historical spot at middlin’ in the SEC. All over the nation citizens are leaving places who were once nice for greener pastures. People are leaving Baton Rouge and people are leaving LSU. Now is not the time to be chintzy.
Can’t win, can’t recruit, can’t win even with a Heisman.
Playoff?
Let’s get past Nicholls first please.
The landscape has changed dramatically. Smart Coaches should not divulge their strategy or discuss $.
Agreed
The whole NIL process is a Charlie Foxtrot. Until the powers that be (whomever they are or will be) take control and bring standardization and common sense, the coaches will have a difficult task dealing with it.
Good for Kelly. He said what needed to be said. I appreciate the straight talk.
Is this a greater or lesser controversy than Arch not appearing in the Nintendo game?
Everybody is buying players. I just think that you don’t need to get into a bidding war with someone.
Agreed! There has to be a limit on the amount to spend on someone. Okay if a player wants to be paid and make money, but to be that selfish and not care to be a team player, and for your new coaching staff to not know what you will do for them on the field should raise a flag.
There should be some stipulations in place BEFORE a player is handed a certain amount of money. Give him a down payment so to speak…then he gets the rest on performance base.
I see nothing wrong with this statement “We’re not in the market of buying players. And unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought.”
SOME players, not all, are looking at money as their primary deciding factor and there’s nothing wrong with that.
I still think the end game in all this is for players to become employees, rather than students, and that will deflate the NIL gold rush enough to restore portal activity. This is where it’s headed, why not go straight to the end game now.
Brian Kelly is the most overrated and overpaid coach in college football. I don’t have a problem with what he said, but he will never win a natty because he just isn’t that good of a coach. And for the record I don’t believe Freeze will either.
To take a few words out a whole interview and you lose some context.
I think this one is pretty easy, without saying as much, Kelly was saying that the unproven players he COULD pay wanted more money than the guys he currently has in the system. THAT would upset the entire NIL structure at LSU and I don’t blame him for passing if that’s what it was.
Rational commentary right here. Thank you
Pay for the fat old guys on the sidelines but not the guys taking the risks. Brian Kelly is OK, but he isn’t that OK.