CBS Sports analysts weigh whether Brian Kelly is on the hot seat, compare LSU coach to James Franklin
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Brian Kelly enters 2025 with a 29-11 record at LSU. At many programs, that’s pretty good. But at LSU, 4 seasons after winning a national championship, “pretty good” isn’t good enough.
Take 2024, for example. After losing to USC in Las Vegas, the Tigers won 6 straight before dropping games to Texas A&M, Alabama, and Florida as their College Football Playoff hopes were dashed in a matter of weeks.
So is Brian Kelly on the hot seat going into 2025? CBS Sports’ college football analysts weighed in on the issue, with Danny Kanell saying that it might be College Football Playoff or bust for Kelly.
“If they don’t get to the playoffs, he might not make it after this season,” Kanell said. “I know there’s guaranteed money that comes into place, but again, they did pay Ed Orgeron $17 million not to coach and he probably has way more than that. But I think this is about a fan base which expects to win national championships.”
Bryant McFadden agreed while bringing up Kelly’s 10-year, $95 million contract and the Tigers’ overall record Kelly’s success in recruiting, along with the players he’s put in the NFL.
“This will be his fourth year at LSU. The last three years, he’s lost the opening game,” McFadden said. “I don’t want to give any predictions, but they have Clemson coming up on the road, so that could be a reoccurring thing again this season. Then outside of that, they’ve always been top 10 in recruiting … When you watch the NFL on Sunday, we always see an LSU player that Brian Kelly coached balling out on the highest level.”
McFadden brought up another coach who has evoked some polarizing opinions among its fanbase — and parts of college football as a whole.
“You talk about James Franklin, I know Penn State fans oftentimes get a bit tired of James Franklin. Well, at least James Franklin got Penn State into the playoffs a year ago. They’re still waiting for that type of service from Brian Kelly down in Baton Rouge,” McFadden said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
