Former Notre Dame HC Brian Kelly unveils his preparation behind the scenes for a potential return to coaching
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When former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly left the Fighting Irish for the LSU Tigers following the 2021 college football season, I am sure he didn’t envision he would be dealing with unemployment less than five years later. Revered for bringing back stability to the Notre Dame program, by some anyway, Kelly’s tenure in Baton Rouge did not live up to expectations.
Kelly’s tenure with LSU ended with a 34-14 overall record. After some early success with the Tigers, it quickly became clear that the biggest issues with Kelly hadn’t been figured out, most notably his team preparation in big games. Heading into the 2025 season, LSU spent a lot of money in the transfer portal, setting up for what many believed was going to be a big season. After a 5-3 start to the year, the program decided that this tenure wasn’t going in the right direction.
With Kelly now working in the shadows, there is a major question about what could be in his coaching future. When Kelly was on the radio with Dusty Dvoracek and Danny Kanell last week, he was asked about that potential return. Kelly is clearly working behind the scenes to get back to a sideline in the near future, as long as some things in college football change.
Brian Kelly on his coaching future
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know that I’ve made the decision that I want to get back in as all the things that we’ve talked about,” Kelly said. I’d want to see some changes. But I think while you wait, you need to work and so I need to stay in the game.
“So my first order of business is this next two, three weeks, I’m going to be visiting some places to see spring ball, get a chance to see some things relative to the football side, the operational side, some of the things that we talked about today with with NIL and transfer calendar, and get a temperature in the spring for some things. I want to do that in the fall too. I want to get out and, you know, look, I got four former assistant coaches that are head football coaches in the NFL. You know, I’ve got four Power Four assistant coaches that we’re close to. I want to get around and see their programs, see how they’re doing, get a sense of where I can grow, and I can be better.
“And so that’s really my focus right now. And then if the right situation comes about and I’m ready, I’m certainly going to entertain that.”
Will Brian Kelly coach again?
At 64 years old, the coaching window for Kelly is shrinking quickly. It would appear that the 2027 college football season would be the earliest for a potential return, and I don’t feel optimistic that it will happen. With Kelly’s words about wanting to see some changes before he makes his return, that adds fuel to the fire that we may have seen the last of Kelly on a sideline, unless we believe that some dramatic change will happen in the next ten months or so.
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Mar 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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