Brian Kelly is heading into a college football season that looks nothing like the last 22 years of his career.
For the first time in more than two decades, he won’t open the year as a head coach. Instead, after LSU moved on from him last November, Kelly is stepping into a media role that keeps him around the sport without the headset and play sheet.
SiriusXM announced that Kelly will join its College Sports Radio channel this season as a weekly co-host with Danny Kanell and Roy Philpott. The show begins Sept. 1 and will air every Wednesday morning at 7 a.m.
ET during the college football season. Kanell and Philpott already lead a weekday show on the channel from 6 to 9 a.m.
ET, and Kelly’s slot fits into that Wednesday lineup.
Kelly said the appeal of the move was clear in the SiriusXM release. "I'm excited to bring what I've learned in my many years on the sidelines into the studio with the outstanding team at SiriusXM," Kelly said.
"Danny and Roy are two pros with great energy and a passion for the game that I share. I look forward to partnering with them every week to give fans an insider's view of today's game and the teams and players we're watching every week."
Kelly’s new media work doesn’t stop there. He is also joining CBS Sports, where he’ll make his game analyst debut this Saturday on CBS Sports Network for Jacksonville State against North Dakota State. He’ll also work as a studio analyst on Inside College Football.
It’s a notable shift for a coach who spent 22 straight years leading programs, moving from Central Michigan to Cincinnati to Notre Dame to LSU. That run made him the winningest coach in Notre Dame history before his exit from Baton Rouge.
LSU fired Kelly after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M, ending a four-year stint in which the Tigers went 34-14 under him. LSU was 3-0 in bowl games during his tenure, but the program never finished a season ranked higher than 18th nationally.
The separation also came with a legal fight. Kelly’s attorneys filed a claim saying LSU had not formally terminated him and was instead trying to fire him for cause, which would have let the school avoid paying his full buyout. LSU ultimately agreed to pay the full amount, estimated at between $53 million and $54 million, and university president Wade Rousse confirmed in a letter that Kelly had been fired without cause.
That buyout includes a condition requiring Kelly to make a good faith, reasonable and sustained effort to obtain qualified employment while the liquidated damages are still owed, which will continue for several more years.
For now, the TV and radio work gives Kelly a new lane while he figures out what comes next. Whether it turns into a long-term second act or just a bridge back to the sideline, that part is still unwritten.
In Other News...
LSU Just Made A No. 18 Choice Fans Will Debate
LSUs latest nod to its locker-room standards came with a familiar kind of weight, as center Braelin Moore was chosen to carry the No. 18 tradition into this season. The honor has long been reserved for players who embody leadership and selflessness, and it remains one of the programs more meaningful internal markers. Moore is only the second offensive lineman to earn the distinction, which says plenty about how the Tigers view his role beyond the line of scrimmage.
Because of NCAA numbering rules, Moore will wear a patch representing No. 18 rather than the number itself, but the symbolism is still the point. The tradition dates back to quarterback Matt Mauck and has been passed along to players whose value shows up in the huddle, in the meeting room and in the way teammates respond to them. For LSU, the selection is another reminder that some of its biggest expectations are measured less by statistics than by the standard a player sets every day. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Made A No. 18 Choice Fans Will Read Into
LSU added a familiar bit of symbolism to its roster this week by honoring Braelin Moore with the No. 18 jersey, a number reserved for the Tiger who best reflects leadership and character. Moore, a fifth-year senior center, will keep wearing No. 61 on game day because of NCAA numbering rules, but the patch attached to his uniform carries real meaning around the program.
The choice is notable for another reason: it is only the second time an LSU offensive lineman has received the honor, following Lloyd Cushenberry in 2019. For a position group that usually gets its praise in quieter ways, the gesture says plenty about how Moore is viewed inside the program and why this one figures to resonate with fans who pay attention to the details. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Is Fueling A Debate LSU Fans Can't Ignore
Lane Kiffin is back in the conversation around LSU, but this time it has nothing to do with play-calling or the transfer portal. He appears as the villain in a new Dr. Pepper "Fansville" commercial set to air this football season, another reminder that his image still carries plenty of edge in college football circles and plenty of baggage for fans who remember his Ole Miss days well.
The timing makes the spot especially hard for LSU fans to ignore, because the Tigers have just added former NFL players DaaQuan Wright and Zxavian Harris after both were cut and then entered the transfer portal. Both players once played for Kiffin at Ole Miss before he took over at LSU, which gives the commercial a little extra irony for a fan base still sorting through how to view its coachs old ties. [Read more 🡒]