Brian Kelly CBS Sports job, explained: What former college football coach will be doing in new broadcast role
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Brian Kelly CBS Sports job, explained: What former college football coach will be doing in new broadcast role originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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After the prolonged Lane Kiffin saga, it's easy to forget Brian Kelly was LSU's head football coach only nine months ago.
Kelly won't be on a sideline this season for the first time since the 1980s, but he won't be out of mind for college football fans. Kelly has agreed to a media deal with CBS Sports, where he will contribute to college football coverage.
Kelly was fired by LSU in October after a 5-3 start to the season and a 34-14 record across nearly four years. The Tigers weren't showing signs of progress, with Kelly's winning percentage dropping in each of his final two seasons, and LSU believed it could make a splash that became the Kiffin hire.
Here's a look at what Kelly will be doing this season at CBS Sports.
Brian Kelly CBS Sports job
Kelly is joining CBS Sports as both as a studio analyst and an in-game analyst, according to The Athletic.
The veteran coach will make his CBS debut as the color commentator for the Week 0 broadcast of Jacksonville State vs. North Dakota State on Aug. 29, and he will call Pac-12 games in Weeks 2 and 3 for the network.
When not calling games, Kelly will be on the "Inside College Football" panel on CBS Sports Network each Tuesday.
It's unclear which play-by-play broadcaster Kelly will be paired with when he calls games, but it's a major career leap for someone who has been entrenched as a coach since his early 20s.
Brian Kelly broadcast history
Kelly has been coaching steadily for more than four decades, so he didn't have time to take on a broadcasting role until his firing at LSU. The 64-year-old debuted with CBS Sports Network for NFL Draft coverage in the spring, and that audition evidently went well enough for CBS to feel comfortable plugging him into in-game roles as an analyst.
In March, Kelly hinted that he would stay active while he decides whether to continue his coaching career.
"I don’t know that I’ve made the decision that I want to get back in," Kelly told SiriusXM’s 'Dusty and Danny in the Morning.' "But I think while you wait, you need to work. And so, I need to stay in the game."
By taking on a role with CBS Sports, Kelly is staying in the game as promised.
Why did LSU fire Brian Kelly?
Kelly's 34-14 record at LSU was strong, but the program wasn't seeing the progress it wanted under the former Notre Dame coach.
Kelly posted back-to-back 10-win seasons to start his tenure, though a 10-3 finish with Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels was viewed by many as a disappointment in 2023. A nine-win season in 2024 was a letdown, and the arrow was clearly pointing in the wrong direction when LSU started 5-3 in 2025.
LSU fired Kelly after a third loss in a span of four games. Offense had plagued the Tigers early in the season, but the optics of allowing 49 points to Texas A&M in Kelly's final game left the program at a crossroads.
The school undoubtedly knew it had the resources to chase a big fish in its coaching search, and it landed one in Lane Kiffin.
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