ESPN College Football Analyst and former Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray hopped on a podcast, voicing his opinion on head coach Brian Kelly and the direction of the LSU Tigers program.
In his three seasons at LSU, Kelly has a total record of 29-11 and a record of 3-0 in bowl games. However, the Kelly led LSU Tigers have zero playoff appearances which is the more glaring issue.
2024 Leads to Serious Concerns
Ever since Kelly became the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats in 2006, he has been one of the winningest head coaches in college football. His success and popularity became even more notable when he joined Notre Dame in 2010.
As good as Kelly is in the regular season and as great of a recruiter he is, he just cannot deliver a National Championship. He has only made it to the National Championship once, and that was back in 2012 with Notre Dame.
With the tons of talented players he has coached throughout the years and the successes they have had in the NFL, it is shocking that Kelly just cannot get the wins when they matter much.
The 2024 season was a big one for LSU as they were projected by many to make some noise even with the loss of 2023 Heisman Winner, future second overall pick, and Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels (where they went 10-3 and still did not appear in the postseason).
Starting off the season, they were ranked 13 in the country. However, after a loss in their first game to USC, they went on a six game winning streak including a solid upset win over Ole Miss. That brought them to 6-1 on the season and eighth in the country.
However, like most Kelly-led teams, the fall off became inevitable, and they dropped three games in a row all by double digits. The losses were to Texas A&M, a crushing defeat to Alabama, and the Florida Gators.
Murray mentioned on the podcast, that as good as LSU is and as good of a recruiter that he is, he is still unsure if Kelly is good enough to deliver a National Championship or at least come close which is the main reason LSU hired him in the first place.
Murray brought up the 2023 season as they had the Heisman-winning quarterback and elite wide receivers in Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., and still could not make the playoffs.
Is 2025 a Make or Break Year?
Murray mentioned how much pressure there is on the Tigers as well as Brian Kelly. They are returning star quarterback who is a Heisman and potential top pick in next year’s NFL Draft in Garrett Nussmeier who Murray believes is the best, if not the best quarterback in a star studded SEC.
They also landed some top talent in the transfer portal, including wide receivers Nic Anderson (Oklahoma) and Barion Brown (Kentucky), who Murray mentioned as well, will have crucial roles this season.
In addition, they also landed offensive lineman Josh Thompson (Northwestern) and Braelin Moore (Virginia Tech). Murray mentioned their offensive line will be one of the question marks and uncertainties of this Tigers team, so Tigers fans are hoping Thompson and Moore can jumpstart and improve the offensive line.
The Tigers lost the anchor of their offensive line after he went fourth overall to the New England Patriots. With a new offensive line, they will have to gain the chemistry and work together as a unit to keep Nussmeier upright.
However, the biggest weakness on this team and could potentially determine whether or not the Tigers make the playoffs is their defense. Not only could Kelly’s job be on the life, but also defensive coordinator Blake Baker will be fighting for his job. Baker became the defensive coordinator at LSU in 2024 and is entering his second year with the program in that role. He was also the team’s linebackers coach in 2021.
In hopes of improving the defense, Baker and Kelly’s best defensive recruit in the transfer portal was cornerback Mansoor Delane, another former Virginia Tech Hokie. Who knows if Delane mixed in with other players is enough to improve the Tigers defense.
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Fortunately for the Tigers, they get to avoid Texas and Georgia who easily could be the top two teams in the SEC next year.
However, they still have a lot of tough games on their schedule that they need to win such as Clemson, Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Alabama. If the Tigers can go at least 3-2 in that stretch, assuming they do not suffer any bad losses the rest of the season, that should be enough to put them in the playoffs.
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