For Brian Kelly, It's Time to Put Up or Shut Up

Kelly Coordinates Change  

LSU quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan called plays in the ReliaQuest Bowl win over Wisconsin and impressed Kelly in the process. Kelly promoted Sloan to co-offensive coordinator, serving with promoted wide receivers coach Cortez Hankton, who also impressed Kelly with his work for the bowl game. Kelly appreciated the cohesiveness of the offensive staff against Wisconsin and its adjustments on the fly.

Defensively, new defensive coordinator Blake Baker was hired away from Missouri, where he helped head coach Eli Drinkwitz lead the Tigers to a remarkable 11-2 turnaround season that ended with a Cotton Bowl win over Ohio State and a final AP ranking of 8^th. 

Baker oversaw profound and consistent improvement in his two years running the defense at Mizzou. Baker’s 2023 Mizzou defense ranked 5^th overall in the SEC and 4^th for points allowed.

Ironically, Baker was previously on the LSU staff but not retained by Kelly when he took over as head coach. Baker is now one of the highest-paid assistants in college football. Kelly is impressed with Baker’s ability to excel at recruiting as well as engaging with players.

A New QB, a Transfer WR, and Renewal for a 5-Star Linebacker  

Redshirt junior Garrett Nussmeier takes over as the presumptive starting QB from Daniels. Nussmeier has had some previous playing time at LSU, with 14 appearances and 150 throws as Daniels’ backup. Kelly believes Nussmeier has plenty of upside and will rapidly develop.

Nussmeier impressed everyone in the bowl win over Wisconsin with 395 yards passing and three TDs with a 69% completion rate. Most important of all, Nussmeier engineered an eight-play, 98-yard, three-minute game-winning drive.

WR CJ Daniels arrives from Liberty University as a Top 10 transfer portal addition to help Nussmeier. In 2023, his fourth season at Liberty. Daniels broke out with 55 catches, 1067 yards, and 10 TDs. Daniels fills a significant void after the Tigers lost their top two receivers from 2023. Daniels arrives with two years of eligibility remaining. Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell said LSU paid Daniels $300,000 to switch.

LB Harold Perkins Jr., who prefers the inside, was moved outside for most of his sophomore season of 2023. Perkins will return to his preferred inside linebacker position for 2024. Despite playing in a different spot, Perkins totaled 75 tackles, including 13 for a loss and 5.5 sacks with an interception and three forced fumbles. Perkins was a 5-start recruit out of Cy Park in Cypress, Texas. LSU believes this move will maximize Perkins’ natural ability, especially with Baker’s credibility as a DC. 

Pete Cordelli Takes the Counter As a Relentless Kelly Critic 

On April 26, Pete Cordelli, the QB and WR coach under Lou Holtz at Notre Dame when the Fighting Irish won their last national championship in 1998, went after Kelly on the Bill King Show.

When Cordelli was asked directly as to whether Kelly is overrated he said, “Yep, he is.”

Although Cordelli acknowledged that Kelly was the winningest coach at Notre Dame, he was quick to add that Kelly never won a national championship. Cordelli said that winning a natty is “the number one thing you have got to do” at Notre Dame, especially considering Kelly’s length of time (12 seasons) under the Golden Dome.

Cordelli added that Kelly “made excuses” about how difficult it was to recruit at Notre Dame “because of the academics.” Corelli continued his rant, saying, “I don’t want to hear that junk. I went through it for five years, and we did just fine recruiting players.”

Cordelli said that money is “no object” at Notre Dame and that he didn’t want to hear about the training table or facilities. He said that at Notre Dame, “you have everything you want.” Cordelli then went for the kill shot, stating that with Brian Kelly, “there is always an excuse, always.”

Cordelli has not gotten over how Alabama destroyed Notre Dame in the 2012 (season) national championship game. He said Kelly did not have a team that was ready and added that Kelly’s teams were never physical enough.

Cordelli said that Kelly produced plenty of NFL players at Notre Dame, thus shooting down the theory on the difficulty of recruiting at Notre Dame. At the same time, Cordelli pointed out that Kelly never developed a serious NFL quarterback during his time at South Bend.

Cordelli did grant that Kelly has brought in a good defensive staff for the upcoming season. He likes the LSU offensive line as the strong point of the team. However, he warned that LSU is “building for next year” (2025) due to the staff turnover. 

Brian Kelly – A Now Kinda Guy

Late in the 2021 season, Brian Kelly walked out on his Notre Dame team that was still in College Football Playoff contention. It was a stinging indictment of his belief in the program’s limitations and the ultimate tell of what Kelly really thought of coaching there. Kelly left in frustration for an LSU program he believed was built to win national championships.

After two 10-win seasons, Kelly admits LSU needs to take a significant step forward. While Nussmeier is not Daniels, he does not have to be. Instead, he needs to be competent. 

Meanwhile, if the LSU defense can merely be average, that next step up for LSU is possible. It is hard to imagine the defense being any worse, and with Baker as DC, it is a near certainty that it will improve.

Kelly has always been a big third-year success wherever he has coached. And despite LSU’s problems in his first two seasons, he still managed to win ten games.

With Nick Saban off to retirement, Kirby Smart and Georgia are the presumptive replacements for SEC dominance. But Brian Kelly and LSU are fighting to have their say in changing that narrative.