The 2026 college football coaching carousel was officially kicked off last week after several Power 4 programs fired their head coaches following disastrous starts to their respective campaigns.
NC State, Baylor, and Maryland are all officially on the hunt for new leadership, and former Notre Dame and LSU head coach Brian Kelly has already been linked to each opening as a potential candidate.
As it so happens, Kelly was asked about all 3 openings on Tuesday afternoon by Danny Kanell during the College Sports on SiriusXM broadcast, and he gave his thoughts on what makes each of them attractive from a coaching perspective.
“They’re all unique. We’re talking about ACC, Big 12, and the Big Ten,” Kelly said.
“From a conference standpoint, the Big Ten has obviously proved itself to have that kind of appeal, right, with Maryland. It is a fertile recruiting area; there’s no doubt. That DMV area is a really good recruiting area. I think that they’ve done great things in terms of upgrading facilities. NC State, another great recruiting area… I could win this thing at the ACC level, and I think that’s what makes it very attractive, as well as the geographical area.
“And then Baylor, it’s Texas. You’re going to have players at Baylor… They have the ability to be a part of the Playoff, and they have the ability to contend within their own leagues, and that’s what makes each and every one of these jobs attractive in my opinion.”
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There’s no denying that the growth of NIL, the transfer portal, and the newly expanded playoff format have changed how certain jobs are viewed by potential coaching hires, and Kelly lays this reality out perfectly in his analysis. With the right coach at the helm, each of these teams can compete for a spot in the CFP and potentially make some noise in the national championship hunt as well.
Kelly has proven that he is capable of being that kind of coach, which is why so many analysts and insiders have already linked his name to each of these openings despite his unceremonious departure from LSU last season.
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