Tigers head football coach Brian Kelly would be fired by LSU if not for $10.5 million recruit

Tigers head football coach Brian Kelly wouldn’t last another year at LSU but probably will because of 5-star QB recruit Bryce Underwood – who received a $10.5 million NIL offer from Michigan and is on flip watch right now.

“If Bryce Underwood decommits (which he probably won’t), Brian Kelly will get fired instantly. Underwood’s commitment is the only reason he has another year or two at LSU,” College Football Report tweeted.

Tiger Rag’s Glenn Guilbeau reported, before the Tigers’ 27-16 loss to Florida, that LSU was not going to fire Kelly this offseason.

“LSU football coach Brian Kelly is not getting fired, and it’s not because it would cost a lot – approximately $60 million – to buy him out from a $95 million contract that runs through 2031. LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, like any good liberal or conservative, is great at spending other people’s money. But Woodward hired Kelly, and even though Kelly is underachieving commensurate to his near-$10 million-a-year contract, Woodward will stick with him,” Guilbeau wrote.

“Kelly has underachieved and disappointed. But his recruiting classes have been ranked high with a No. 6 in 2023 and a No. 7 in 2024. His current class is at No. 4. He needs to get better on both sides of the portal – keeping and attracting players. He also needs to recruit and hire better assistants. But remember, Saban also made a couple of off hires early in his stay at LSU at defensive coordinator with Phil Elmassian and Gary Gibbs. Happens to the best of coaches.”

Tigers head football coach Brian Kelly will be fired if LSU loses Bryce Underwood, other flips

Like Hugh Freeze at Auburn, Mike Norvell at Florida State, and practically any head coach running a top-20 Power 4 program, Kelly will not be kept if he starts losing recruits.

With Kelly already showing Bo Pelini levels of anger at his team and the media, this thing may only worsen in Baton Rouge.

Firings won’t come as frequently in the era of NIL with buyouts affecting spending power in recruiting. But a program like LSU has the reserves to make such a drastic move if it’s not working.

And by losing to Florida, the Tigers proved this isn’t working right now.