Brian Kelly Shocks College Football, Will Reportedly Leave Notre Dame to Coach LSU

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly will leave South Bend to coach LSU, Yahoo! Sports has reported.

According to sources, Kelly and LSU are expected to finalize a deal by the end of Tuesday. He will succeed Ed Orgeron, who coached his last game with the Tigers on Saturday.

Kelly’s decision to leave the program reportedly stunned sources at Notre Dame who spoke with ESPN on Monday.

He is currently in his 12th season with the Fighting Irish and his team is sixth in the College Football Playoff rankings with a record of 11-1. The only loss came against Cincinnati, where Kelly coached from 2006 to 2009. The team has an outside chance at cracking the top four to make the playoffs and bid for the national title, but they will need help.

Notre Dame has compiled a record of 113-40 under Kelly, but has struggled in major bowl games during his tenure. The Irish have one national title game appearance since Kelly was hired, a 42-14 loss to Alabama in 2013.

LSU and Orgeron had agreed in October that this season would be his last. A series of incidents marred his time with the program. In one episode, he reportedly hit on the pregnant wife of an LSU official. When she informed him she was married, Orgeron reportedly said “why does that matter?”

He led the Tigers to a national title in 2020.

“Whoever the new coach is, I wish him all the luck in the world,” Orgeron said on Saturday. “I’ll always be an LSU fan.”