5 best Brian Kelly replacements as LSU head coach

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5 best Brian Kelly replacements as LSU head coach

Lorenzo J Reyna, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Mon, Oct 27, 2025 ·

5 min read

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The post 5 best Brian Kelly replacements as LSU head coach appeared first on ClutchPoints .

The seventh power conference head coaching opening surfaced in Baton Rouge Sunday. LSU football fired Brian Kelly , which ends a four-season run with the Tigers .

This CFB season has witnessed high-profile openings sprout like never before. UCLA and Penn State represent the biggest ones available in the Big Ten. Oklahoma State parted ways with its own longtime head coach Mike Gundy. But the Southeastern Conference has seen Florida , Arkansas and now LSU all open.

Kelly's tenure in Death Valley featured one Heisman Trophy winner in Jayden Daniels . Yet Kelly failed to replicate the success he built at Notre Dame , where he won 113 games. No LSU team led by Kelly won an SEC title, or even clinch a College Football Playoff spot.

With four national championships inside the football facility, plus having a fertile recruiting ground, LSU will attract big names. Now LSU rises as the most attractive HC destination.

We'll start by ruling out Marcus Freeman, who also remains targeted by Penn State, Florida and other jobs. Freeman still comes with a massive buyout on his ND contract. Billy Napier, despite previous success in the state of Louisiana, also isn't a contender here.

But this list features one likely to want the job, plus other surprises. Here are five names to monitor.

James Franklin enters picture immediately for LSU opening

© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Franklin remains committed to coaching again , making that statement with ESPN College GameDay over a week ago.

He's already mentioned as a Florida possibility . LSU no doubt will become attract to him.

Chris Hummer of CBS Sports immediately plastered the former Nittany Lions head coach's name to this new opening. Hummer cited how Franklin won 68% of his games at his last two head coaching stops .

Franklin knows the SEC well too in turning Vanderbilt into a bowl contender. LSU fans, though, might see too much Kelly in Franklin when one looks at his sparse national championship and postseason credentials. There's likely a population already turned off by his record against top 10 foes.

Still, Franklin to LSU chatter is already igniting. So is this potential reunion.

NFL coordinator linked to LSU again

Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Tigers fans recall Joe Brady aggressively calling the 2019 offense during Joe Burrow 's Heisman-winning campaign, and the national title run.

Count on a large number of LSU fans calling for Brady to come "home."

Brady is reportedly losing interest in returning to the college game, though. The now 36-year-old has spent his post LSU life in the NFL and could command future head coaching roles there.

But people around Louisiana's Death Valley recall how impactful he was. Hence why he earns mention here.

Another reunion in place for LSU?

Brady wasn't the only central figure of that '19 run. So was the head coach that year…

And Ed Orgeron sounds like he's open to coach again. Ironically his last HC spot has reopened.

Yes it sounds crazy considering how subpar LSU became after that run. But fans saw how impactful "Coach O" was when he took over the team.

Orgeron can reignite the recruiting efforts especially in-state. Kelly even won early on with "Coach O's" leftovers on the roster. Perhaps there's still closet bitterness about how he and LSU departed, but the 64-year-old was the school's last national title winner. Though at his age he may become more interested in a place with lesser expectations compared to Baton Rouge ( he's linked to the UCLA and Oregon State opening).

The hottest name for LSU? Lane Kiffin

Granted, Kiffin is attached to almost every major opening from Florida to Penn State.

Ole Miss holds the biggest key here. Can the Oxford campus massively pay him enough? Or will LSU pull out an annual salary he'll have a hard time turning down?

Kiffin's base salary is $9 million featuring a $36.6 million buyout . The LSU brass would need to scale the former million-dollar figure outside of coming up with the money to buy him out of Ole Miss.

Kiffin, if anything, may have an epiphany and realize he'll have a stronger chance of winning conference and national titles at LSU. But he's become beloved in "Hot Toddy" country, so this will be a hard move on LSU's end.

Finally, the Group of 5 contender for LSU

The Tigers and athletic director Scott Woodward can go after an in-state promotion — by targeting Tulane's Jon Sumrall.

Bear in mind Sumrall's name entered the picture for North Carolina , before Bill Belichick took control there. Sumrall owns a 38-10 mark at Troy and Tulane.

Outside of the Bayou State ties he brings, Sumrall is an SEC guy at heart; having played linebacker at Kentucky while coaching for both his alma mater and Ole Miss (linebacker coach in 2018). LSU becomes a huge stepping stone for one of the nation's fastest rising head coaches.

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