Brian Kelly knew the stakes were huge on Saturday night when No. 20 LSU was set to host No. 3 Texas A&M at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge in Week 9.
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The Tigers entered Saturday with a 5-2 record after losing 31-24 to then-No. 17 Vanderbilt in Week 8. LSU began the season with expectations of making the College Football Playoff, and appeared ready to back up those projections with a 17-10 win over then-No. 4 Clemson on the road in Week 1.
However, a 24-19 loss to then-No. 13 Ole Miss on Sept. 27 showed cracks with the program, especially on offense.
After Vandy beat LSU in Week 8, Kelly told the media that his players needed to focus and play clean football against the Aggies, with the hope they could win the game and make a late-season chase to make the SEC Championship Game.
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LSU took an 18-14 lead into halftime, but Texas A&M came out motivated in the third quarter, outscoring the Tigers 21-0. Early in the fourth quarter, the Aggies extended the lead to 42-18.
During the first quarter, a chant broke out in LSU’s student section calling for Kelly to be fired.
The chants only started to become more frequent and louder as the Aggies extended their lead in the fourth quarter. Fans on social media had similar responses to the Tigers’ poor showing on Saturday night.
“If you’re in Death Valley please start fire Brian Kelly chants,” wrote a fan.
“LSU has got to fire Brian Kelly!! Enough is enough,” argued a poster.
“Were we go from here is fire Brian Kelly this offseason and get a young head coach from a smaller school that’s show to build a program up despite not having the same amount of resources as the powerhouse programs,” posted another.
“If LSU doesn’t fire Brian Kelly tonight that tells me they are no longer serious college football program,” believes a fan.
“All the empty seats and A&M fans celebrating like it’s 1994. It’s a sad, pathetic sight. Do you need any more reason to fire Brian Kelly? Me thinks not LSU,” wrote another.
“As I said, fire Brian Kelly, sit Nuss for the year, and start over,” posted a fan.
Kelly’s buyout is a complication for LSU to consider if it wants to fire the head coach. In 2021, he signed a 10-year contract, and the Tigers would be on the hook for approximately $52 million if they fired him after this season.
There has been chatter that the Tigers would force Kelly to make staffing changes if the team continued to struggle, especially on offense. But the program reportedly wasn’t “close” to firing Kelly in Week 9, in part, because of the prohibitive cost of the buyout.
Kelly entered Saturday with a 34-13 record at LSU and a 19-9 record in SEC play.
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