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By all accounts, Brian Kelly left his job with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for a new one with LSU Tigers because he believed LSU offered him a better opportunity to win a national championship. But in the three seasons since leaving South Bend, Kelly is 29-11 and yet to make the College Football Playoff while Notre Dame just played in the national championship game under replacement Marcus Freeman.
Immediately after leaving Notre Dame for LSU, concerns began to arise around about Kelly’s fit in Baton Rouge. He had no ties to the south (as evidenced by his fake southern accent) no ties to the Tigers program and its identity, which had typically been rooted in elite defense (2019 national championship team notwithstanding).
But the defense has been Kelly’s achilles heel thus far with LSU, which is why he somehow went 10-3 with a team that had Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. on offense.
One of the biggest areas that Kelly needed to be address was the defensive line. Kelly has had three defensive line coaches in three seasons with LSU, and on Thursday, he hired the fourth. This time, however, he brought in one that should have some staying power.
The Tigers reportedly hired former star defensive tackle and Ruston, Louisiana native Kyle Williams to fill the vacant position. Williams was an All-SEC selection and All-American in 2005 and went on to make six Pro Bowls in a 12-year NFL career, all of which was with the Buffalo Bills.
After retiring in 2018, he returned to his hometown and served as the defensive coordinator for Ruston, which is one of Louisiana’s top high school programs.
Not only does Williams come on board with some impressive bona fides, he also hopefully provides Kelly and company with some much-needed stability at the position.