Preparation for Wisconsin has been a bit of a scramble for well-traveled LSU coach Brian Kelly
TAMPA – Brian Kelly has been a head football coach for 34 seasons.
His stops during that stretch: Grand Valley State (1991-2003), Central Michigan (2004-2006), Cincinnati (2006-2009), Notre Dame (2010-2021) and LSU (2022 and 2023).
After LSU closed the regular season with a 42-30 victory over Texas A&M to improve to 9-3, Kelly was asked about his future.
Kelly, 62, said he had no plans to leave Baton Rouge.
“I want to be at LSU,” said Kelly, who is 19-7 in two seasons at LSU. “I love it here. I’m not going anywhere.
“This is my last stop on the Coach Kelly caravan. You always go: ‘Well, you know he’s just saying that to get the right soundbite.’
“But I don’t have to say anything that puts me in a corner, but this is it. This is where I want to be, this is where I want to coach.”
Since those comments Nov. 25, however, Kelly’s name has been linked to another job. Kelly reportedly would be interested in Michigan if the Wolverines can't agree to a contract with Jim Harbaugh, whose name again has been linked to NFL openings.
Kelly’s focus for now is on leading LSU (9-3) to a victory over Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Monday.
The Tigers have won their last three games since suffering a 14-point loss to Alabama on Nov. 4.
“It offers us an opportunity for a 10th win,” he said, “which is what we have talked about … after the Alabama game as being an important piece for the development of our program, to get to back-to-back seasons with 10 wins.”
Losing offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has forced Brian Kelly to ask more of his staff
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was the architect of the No. 1 scoring offense in the country this season as LSU, led by Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, averaged 46.4 points and 547.8 yards per game.
After Denbrock accepted the job as Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator, Kelly announced that Cortez Hankton and Joe Sloan will serve as co-offensive coordinators against UW.
Sloan coaches the quarterbacks and Hankton is passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Both are in their second seasons at LSU.
Daniels announced he is skipping the bowl game to begin preparing for the 2024 NFL draft. Garrett Nussmeier, who completed 17 of 33 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown this season, is expected to start in place of Daniels.
LSU is the only FBS team this season to average at least 200 rushing yards and at least 300 passing yards per game.
The Tigers finished the regular season eighth in rushing at 213.5 yards per game and fourth in passing at 334.3 yards per game.
Daniels led the team in rushing yards per game (94.5) and rushing touchdowns (10).
LSU defensive coordinator Matt House is under fire
The Tigers finished the regular season 78th nationally in scoring defense (27.8 ppg) and 101st in yards allowed (409.2 per game).
The man in charge of LSU’s defense is Matt House, who is in his second season with Kelly. House, coincidentally, was Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator under Paul Chryst in 2013 and 2014. Chryst did not bring House to Madison when he took the UW job before the 2015 season, however.
LSU this season has surrendered at least 30 points in four games.
The Tigers held off Arkansas, 34-31, but suffered losses to Florida State, 45-24; to Ole Miss, 55-49; and to Alabama, 42-28.
“We’re here to win championships,” Kelly said. “Our defense did not play to the level that our standard is set at. Nobody is happy – including everybody on the defensive side and the head football coach – that we didn’t play the kind of defense necessary.
“I’m not happy about it. Nobody is happy about it. Our fans shouldn’t be happy about it and we have to do things to make sure that doesn’t happen again."
Why hasn't Kelly removed House? Kelly said if the solution to LSU's problems was that easy he would have done so. He noted that while at Notre Dame he fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder after a 1-3 start in 2016.
"And he was in my wedding," Kelly noted. "It's not on one person. It's collectively. So, if it was that easy, we would have been in a different place....
"This process has been ongoing. And this process has been one where we feel the pain of everybody. It cannot be the kind of defensive performance we had this past year. It’s got to be better and it will be better.”
More: Wisconsin safety Travian Blaylock trying to savor every play, every memory of his final season
More: 'He just makes plays': Wisconsin teammates see great potential in receiver Trech Kekahuna
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brian Kelly, LSU prep for Wisconsin bowl game amid rumor he'll leave
