![Florida head coach Billy Napier greets fans during Gator Walk before an NCAA football game against Mississippi Stateat Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 18, 2025. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_17,w_2717,h_1528/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/162/01k8kg91vdah7k3a60kr.jpg "Florida head coach Billy Napier greets fans during Gator Walk before an NCAA football game against Mississippi Stateat Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 18, 2025. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
LSU is now the 11th program this college football season to be without a head coach midway through the season. The Tigers pulled the trigger on firing Brian Kelly, and now they join the ranks of Penn State, Florida, and other power conference schools on the hunt for their next leader.
Of course, when a coach is fired, the names start flying of who to hire, from Curt Cignetti at Indiana, to Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. Indiana did its due diligence and locked out Cignetti with a new contract that will have the second-year head coach sticking for a while, earning a lot more money.
However, what a lot of people don't talk about are the names to stay away from. LSU wants to bring someone in who is going to win National Championships, not just have a good season that ends in bowl eligibility or maybe a College Football Playoff appearance. Programs like Penn State and LSU don't rebuild; they want someone who can come in and be successful right away.
So, if that is what LSU is looking for, these are five names that LSU should avoid like the plague if they want to be successful soon.
1. Billy Napier
Seems that Billy Napier struggled to beat LSU in his time with Florida; it certainly doesn't make sense for him to then come and coach the Tigers. Napier was fired from Florida for a reason, and it was because he always started slow, and then by the time he was able to be successful in a season, it was too late...basically the complete opposite of what Kelly was doing in Baton Rouge.
2. Hugh Freeze
This is another that shouldn't come as a surprise, as Auburn fans don't even want him around anymore. Hugh Freeze is still coaching at Auburn, but it seems like his seat is getting pretty hot, so if he can't cut it at Auburn, especially when he can't make the tough decision, LSU certainly isn't the place for him.
3. Mack Brown
Mack Brown always seems like a candidate, as he has won a National Championship in his coaching tenure, but it comes down to whether or not he will be able to run a program in the days of NIL and revenue sharing. Brown, like former Alabama and LSU coach Nick Saban, really doesn't have a lot of experience coaching in the days of NIL, and coming in brand new would be tough for a program like LSU.
4. Gus Malzahn
The college football world seems to have no love for Gus Malzahn anymore. He can't make it as a head coach anymore, and he is struggling at this point as an offensive coordinator at FSU. It might be time for the Gus Bus to retire and enjoy the sunny beaches of Florida, certainly not anywhere at LSU.
5. Jimbo Fisher
Jimbo Fisher might have once been a great head coach, but it feels like what he did at Texas A&M has completely erased all the good he has done. Fisher was fired and made history with the largest buyout for a head coach in college football history, and now he is a college football analyst, and that is definitely where he should stay. He tried coaching in the SEC, and a second go around probably wouldn't be any better.
Honorable Mention: Ed Orgeron
If you needed a laugh, Ed Orgeron has been added been added to this list as an honorable mention. Every LSU fan knows why the Tigers should stay as far away as possible from Orgeron.