LSU Football: Brian Kelly gets some major respect from national media

New LSU football head coach Brian Kelly received some major respect this week from the national media.

Kelly, who replaced Ed Orgeron as the Tigers’ new head coach in early December, has been one of the best coaches in college football over the last decade.

The Massachusetts native managed to take Notre Dame to the national championship game in 2012 and the College Football Playoff in 2018.

That kind of success eluded Notre Dame before Kelly’s arrival in 2010.

LSU football head coach Brian Kelly named the best new hire of 2022

247Sports’ Matt Howe this week ranked the top 12 head coaching hires of the offseason.

When I opened the article, I expected to see a name that didn’t any sense at the top — someone like Billy Napier at Florida or Brent Venables at Oklahoma.

I was surprised to actually see Kelly’s name at the top of Howe’s list, just above Lincoln Riley at USC (which also surprised me, given the national media’s infatuation with Riley).

Here’s what Howe said about Kelly at LSU:

"When Kelly left Notre Dame to take the job at LSU, the college football world was stunned. There are some concerns about how Kelly will fit in Baton Rouge, but LSU has more than enough resources for him to win a national championship. Kelly’s resume is incredibly impressive, and three different coaches have won a national title with the Tigers since 2000. Kelly could very well make it four. In 12 seasons with the Fighting Irish, Kelly owned a 113-40 record including a 5-5 record in bowl games. As he begins his rebuild of the LSU roster, Kelly told the ESPN broadcast crew during the Texas Bowl that he plans to prioritize Louisiana and the surrounding areas in a big way."

If the only concern about Kelly is the “fit” at LSU, then I don’t think fans have too much to worry about.

Kelly is a great coach. He’s a winner. And those types of coaches “fit” wherever they land.

Was Nick Saban a good fit when he left Michigan State for LSU?

Not really.

But that obviously worked out pretty well.

It’s really nice to see Kelly getting some recognition. I think we’re going to see him accomplish some amazing things in Baton Rouge — that means championships.

And it appears the national media agrees.