BRIAN KELLY: WHY 2025 IS MAKE OR BREAK FOR THE IRISH TIGER'S TIME AT LSU

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By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

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READ OUR FIRST PIECE ON THE CFP MANDATE....although now we examine the issue in a deeper context, basically an unvarnished LSUOdyssey writing rant.

I'm worried as a fanbase, LSU are beginning to settle for a little bit less each season that goes by...

Earlier, we said there had to be a mandate....qualify for the 12 team playoff or bust. However, I find that thinking flawed and a bit pathetic for a school that sent dawgs like Burrow, Mathieu, Chase, Landry, Campbell, Spears, Faneca, Jefferson, Adams to the NFL...

....Brian Kelly's #LSU Tigers can't just make the 12 team playoff, this squad need to go on a run, not just collapse on the doormat of the 12.

I've never heard of any collegiate head coach, at any top upper echelon program, receiving 5+ years to try & see if maybe...possibly they can build something to possibly...kinda win.....

That level of trust, control & autonomy has only been given to a Head Coach once before at LSU...when Nick Saban rebuilt the program to become one of the winningest programs of the 21st century before leaving after 4 seasons on his own terms.

What other championship-winning Head Coach was able to do what they wanted for years at LSU, regardless of winning championships????

It's never happened.

Even after all Dabo Swinney has done for Clemson, multiple championships, 4 title game appearances, Swinney is actually on the hot seat himself....

So....how can a title-less collegiate head coach receive Belichick-levels of control, a monster financial contract, 5+ years of extreme patience from his athletic director, complete autonomy over firing and hiring decisions....all without ever delivering a championship???

The only name i can think of other than Georgia's long love affair with Mark Richt??

LSU's current Head Coach Brian Kelly.

That high life doesn't last long outside of Clemson, South Carolina, where the ties that bind are so tight, cousins marrying cousins isn't looked down upon, it's a local custom.....but in the SEC...at LSU...the school with the 2nd most 21st century titles....winning or losing doesn't just mean something, it means everything.

When do you see a Head Coach, without wearing a title ring on his fingers, receive a free half decade to figure it out at one of the most elite schools in America???

When do you see near decade long, championship-less projects inside of the SEC???

Even when we were barely watchable on offense, in my first era as a Tiger fan back in the late 90s, LSU wouldn't allow a coach to mire the program too long in the doldrums....although one season at the helm for Curley Hallman was more than enough for us to take....

So...why is Athletic Director Scott Woodward so afraid to crank up the pressure on Coach Kelly???

I'm not saying Brian Kelly's tenure has been mediocre, or that he is steeping LSU into the mire of mediocrity, in fact, many of the changes he's made as far as community & locker room team culture, enhancing the recruiting, academics, and retaining key assistants have been incredible game changers of the Kelly era.

One could argue Kelly has already out-recruited Coach O's era, plus, he also pulled in a transfer QB who won a Heisman with an iconic season & historic offense (sans the perfect season & title Coach O's Joe Burrow supplied), but despite all the strong progress, I have to give an incomplete grade so far for Kelly's LSU reign.

As he knows more than anyone, his 40 years of coaching accomplishments turn meaningless for 98% of college football fans each year that he can't win a championship....a tragic, sad state of affairs, but the current state of our win-at-all-costs sports world.

I hope he's successful, he's done a lot of great things for the program that can't be denied and usually don't get much shine, still, it's almost impossible for any of his LSU teams to have a cohesion where both offense AND defense fire on all Cylinders, compliment one another, play physically and aggressively like LSU teams are supposed to (and were able to do for decades), and then there's the big game conversation:

Under Kelly, LSU also lost 4 of their 7 contests vs top 10 teams, and actually dropped a 1-4 record against teams ranked #11-25....furthermore, LSU allowed an average of 250 yards on the ground in each of their Kelly-era SEC defeats...

What kind of season do you think Kelly must supply in 2025 to keep you satisfied???

How much time would you give Brian Kelly to win a title???

If you're Scott Woodward, and you were afforded a do over, would you still issue Kelly a 10 year, $100 million contract???

By LONN PHILLIPS SULLIVAN

Follow On X @LonnPhillips

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