Brian Kelly out at LSU: Top candidates, transfers, recruits

For the third consecutive Sunday in October, a major college football coaching job has opened, and LSU is the biggest of them all.

Brian Kelly is out midway through his fourth year at LSU, and a night after his third loss of the 2025 season. LSU was blown out 49-24 by Texas A&M, which scored 35 unanswered points to win in Tiger Stadium for the first time since 1994. An LSU season that began with national championship aspirations and a road win against Clemson -- the Tigers' first season-opening win under Kelly -- sidetracked very quickly with consecutive losses to Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

Kelly, who stunningly left Notre Dame for a chance to win his first FBS national championship, never even made the College Football Playoff at LSU. He won a division title in his first season in 2022 but never finished higher than 13th in the final CFP standings. Kelly is the first LSU coach to not win a national championship there since Gerry DiNardo, whose tenure ended after the 1999 season. Kelly finishes his Tigers tenure at 34-14, having lost multiple games in SEC play in all four seasons on the Bayou.

LSU's decision throws another surprising twist into an incredibly active coaching cycle. Although Penn State and Florida are both A-list jobs, LSU is in a tier of its own. In a state rich with talent, LSU is the only Power 4 program. The fact that three very different coaches -- Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron -- won national championships there speaks to the job's potential and overall excellence.

Is it a perfect job? No. The politics and occasional dysfunction around LSU are baked in. Athletic director Scott Woodward's future is also in question after the Kelly hire failed so miserably and led to a $54 million buyout. But the potential at LSU is massive, and every candidate knows what the program can be when everything is aligned. Buckle up. Things are about to get even wilder. -- Adam Rittenberg

Candidates | Transfers | Recruits

Five candidates for the job

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin: LSU's firing of Kelly could be really bad news for Florida, which has made little secret of its desire to bring Kiffin to Gainesville. Perhaps Florida can still get its man, but Kiffin should be near or at the very top of LSU's wish list. He wouldn't have to deal with in-state competitors there and would lead a program with few if any limitations with resources, facilities and fan base. Kiffin, 50, is 51-19 at Ole Miss and has the Rebels positioned for their first CFP appearance this season, which could end up hurting his chances to take another job. But he doesn't need to be sold on LSU's history and the recruiting advantages. He is 112-53 as an FBS coach.

Tulane coach Jon Sumrall: He's arguably the hottest name outside of the Power 4 and will have opportunities to lead higher-profile programs soon, especially in the SEC. Sumrall, 43, is already in the state at Tulane, which is 15-6 under his watch and positioned for a possible American conference title and its first CFP appearance this season. He also was an assistant at Tulane from 2012 to 2014 and knows the recruiting scene in and around New Orleans as well as anyone. The jump to the Power 4 and a program like LSU can't be ignored, but those who know Sumrall expect him to transition well. He played in the SEC at Kentucky and coached linebackers at both Ole Miss and Kentucky before landing his first head coaching job at Troy, which he led to consecutive Sun Belt titles. Sumrall is 38-10 as an FBS coach.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman: Would LSU successfully swipe Notre Dame's coach twice in a row? It's hard to say. Should LSU make inquiries about Freeman? Absolutely. He has established himself as one of the sport's top young coaches at just 39. Freeman is the first Notre Dame coach to win a CFP game -- three in fact -- as he guided the Fighting Irish to the national championship game last fall. He's 38-12 as Notre Dame's coach and has the team positioned for a possible CFP return if it can win out. Coincidentally, Freeman turned down LSU's defensive coordinator job with Orgeron to join Kelly at Notre Dame. Freeman has spent his entire career in his native Ohio or neighboring Indiana, and a move to the SEC could be jarring. He ultimately might target the NFL as his next step, but he would at least have to consider a top program such as LSU.

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key: He's a Georgia Tech guy and has his alma mater positioned for a run at the ACC title and the program's first CFP appearance. Key wouldn't leave for just any job, but he would have to consider LSU. He's no stranger to the program after coaching Alabama's offensive line from 2016 to 2018 under Saban and participating in the annual LSU showdown. Key, 47, grew up in Alabama and has spent his entire career in the Southeast, including more than a decade at UCF in various roles. Key is 26-16 at Georgia Tech as a first-time head coach and has thrived in big games with a 7-1 record against ranked ACC opponents. He would bring a clear recruiting vision and an approach based around the line of scrimmage to LSU.

Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz: After Kiffin, Drinkwitz could be the top SEC coaching candidate who would look to move within the conference. He has led Missouri since 2020, building a consistent, respected program that is 27-7 since the start of the 2024 season, including a No. 8 finish and a Cotton Bowl title in 2023. Drinkwitz, 42, is an Arkansas native who came up under Gus Malzahn and worked at Auburn early in his coaching career. He hasn't taken down many SEC heavyweights but also hasn't been leading one of the conference's historic powers. Drinkwitz should be able to upgrade LSU's offense and has been an aggressive and successful recruiter. Given greater reach and resources at LSU, he could really do some damage there. -- Rittenberg

Most important players to retain

The Tigers put together one of the top portal classes in the country this offseason, a veteran group loaded with starting experience and NFL potential, in the hopes they could add all the right missing pieces for a national championship run. But there's a ton of valuable blue-chip talent in this program, particularly from LSU's most recent top-10 recruiting class, that rival coaches will be trying to poach now that this job is open.

CB DJ Pickett: Pickett became one of the Tigers' most talented defenders as soon as he set foot on campus. The five-star true freshman from Florida is about as rare of an athlete as it gets at his position as a 6-foot-5, 195-pound cover man, and he hasn't struggled to adjust to SEC competition. Pickett gave up just seven catches for 70 yards on 16 targets, with zero passing touchdowns and one interception, through his first seven games, according to ESPN Research. Rival coaches see a future first-round draft pick two years from now and would love an opportunity to try to flip Pickett via the portal this offseason.

TE Trey'Dez Green: The sophomore pass catcher emerged as an outstanding playmaker in the Tigers' attack, turning 21 catches into 264 receiving yards and four touchdowns on the year. Green is a matchup nightmare as a 6-7, 240-pound athlete and one of the fastest tight ends in the country with a max speed of 19.7 mph this season, according to data from Teamworks.

LB Whit Weeks: Weeks, a first-team All-SEC selection in 2024, will have to decide at the end of the year whether he's ready to enter the NFL draft or would rather come back for his senior season. The 6-2, 225-pound captain has been seriously missed over the Tigers' past two losses as he recovers from an ankle injury. He has started 20 career games and produced 203 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 5 sacks for the Tigers' defense.

RB Harlem Berry: The No. 1-ranked running back recruit in the 2025 class looks well on his way to becoming one of the more exciting playmakers in the SEC. Berry, a speedy 5-11, 190-pound back, has rushed for 225 yards and two TDs on 4.9 yards per carry and earned his first career start against Texas A&M. If Caden Durham can get healthy and back to playing at a high level, he and Berry give this LSU offense a dynamic duo to continue to build around next year.

OT Carius Curne: Curne, the No. 133 overall player in the 2025 ESPN 300, is having to learn on the go against top-10 SEC opponents, making his first start at right tackle against Ole Miss and moving to left tackle against Texas A&M. The 6-5, 320-pound freshman got injured against the Aggies but has flashed big-time talent and could potentially play tackle or guard as he develops. The Arkansas native will be an important player for the future of this LSU offensive line. -- Max Olson

Three key recruits

DT Lamar Brown, No. 1 in ESPN 300: Brown's July commitment marked the Tigers' recruiting peak under Kelly, and if LSU manages to hold on to his pledge under a new staff, he'll arrive as the program's first No. 1 overall recruit since Leonard Fournette in the 2014 class. The 6-5, 285-pound defender hails from nearby Erwinville, Louisiana, and attends high school on the LSU campus. Still, multiple schools -- Texas A&M and Miami, most prominently -- came close to pulling Brown out of Louisiana in the summer. As both programs flirt with College Football Playoff contention this fall, it would be no surprise if either the Aggies or Hurricanes, or any handful of the nation's other premier programs, try to flip the nation's No. 1 overall prospect over the next month.

DE Trenton Henderson, No. 61 in ESPN 300: It has been four cycles since the Tigers signed a top-100 defensive end prospect. Henderson kicked off a strong run of LSU summer recruiting in July when the versatile edge rusher from Pensacola, Florida, picked the Tigers over Florida and Texas. Auburn and Michigan were also involved in Henderson's process earlier this year. A highly productive sack machine across his junior and senior seasons, Henderson will surely attract late-cycle interest from major programs if he reopens his recruitment.

WR Jabari Mack, No. 64 in ESPN 300: LSU landed high-level wide receiver commits, but the program often struggled to get them signed in the late stages of Kelly's tenure, headlined by Dakorien Moore's decommitment in the 2025 class and five-star 2026 pass catcher Tristen Keys' flip to Tennessee in August. Given that recent history, prospects such as Mack will be critical to the Tigers' future pipeline at the position. The 6-foot, 200-pound receiver from Destrehan, Louisiana, is viewed as a potential high-impact, vertical threat at the next level, which is why spring finalists Ohio State, Texas and Texas A&M could soon be among the programs to circle back with Mack before the early signing period. -- Eli Lederman