Former LSU coach Brian Kelly was fired on Sunday, but problems within the program had clearly been building for quite some time.
Current and former LSU players criticized Kelly for being distant and not building relationships with his players, according to Bruce Feldman, Ralph Russom and Christopher Kamrani of The Athletic. One former LSU player said Kelly did not even seem to know the first names of multiple players.
Kelly’s lack of a connection with his players was such an issue that it came up in recruiting. One LSU staffer even said that coaches “had to recruit around” Kelly.
“[LSU’s rivals would] use that against us: ‘He’ll never talk to you guys. He doesn’t even know the players’ names,” the staffer added.
The story goes into detail about some of Kelly’s other perceived shortcomings, but the lack of a relationship with many players is quite damning. There were plenty of hints that Kelly was not the most fun to play for, but there is a difference between being tough and being outright distant.
From the start, Kelly seemed like a poor fit at LSU, and looked like someone who was awkwardly trying to fit in. That turned out to be the case, and now the school is once again in the market for a head coach.
