Price of parity: Brian Kelly firing is latest midseason SEC coaching move
ATHENS — Parity has come at a price in the ultracompetitive SEC, where, on Sunday, Brian Kelly became the third head coach fired this season.
Arkansas’ Sam Pittman was the first on Sept. 28, then came the Oct. 19 dismissal of Florida coach Billy Napier, and now Kelly.
It’s more a matter of when — and not “if” — another SEC head coach gets fired, as rumors have swirled around the job security of Auburn’s Hugh Freeze, and reports have surfaced that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian could be eying a return to the NFL.
Kelly, who arrived at LSU in November 2021 from Notre Dame after establishing himself as the Fighting Irish’s winningest coach of all time, is the seventh coach from a Power Four conference fired this season.
Mack Brown was the only Power Four conference coach fired in-season last year. At that, North Carolina allowed him to coach the final game.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart suggested the changes to transfer eligibility have something to do with schools making coaching changes in season.
In the 2024 season, players had a 30-window to transfer immediately after a head coach change was announced. Earlier this month, that rule was changed to a 15-day window that begins five days after a new head coach is hired or announced.
“I think maybe the fear in recent years has been, the later you do it, the more you lose your recruiting class,” Smart said, referencing the Dec. 3-5 early signing day window.
“And, the later you do it, the more fluid your roster is.”
Roster management has become paramount to college football success with the transfer portal playing a major role in program success.
LSU was among the preseason favorites on the strength of a transfer portal class that Kelly estimated to cost “just about $18 million.”
The Tigers opened the season ranked No. 9 with championship visions but fell to 5-3 after a 49-25 home loss to No. 3 Texas A&M, leading to Kelly’s dismissal.
Kelly, 64, was recently asked about the very same hot seat culture that claimed his job Sunday.
“I think each individual situation requires universities to decide what it looks like moving forward, instead of where we are right now,” Kelly said Oct. 1.
“I think with revenue sharing, and I think with the construction of your roster (under consideration) … are we gonna be better if we stay where we’re at right now?”
LSU athletic director Scott Woodward released a statement Sunday night explaining the Tigers “had high hopes (Kelly) would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships,” and, “the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.”
Kelly leaves Baton Rouge with a 34-14 (.708) record and a buyout that’s worth a reported $53.8 million, surpassing the estimated $49 million buyout that James Franklin is owed after his ousting at Penn State on Oct. 12.
Should Auburn make a move with Freeze, his buyout is just above $15 million, according to AL.com.
Nick Saban, who won the 2003 national championship at LSU and six more national titles at Alabama during his tenure in Tuscaloosa (2007-23), said collegiate football’s new financial model is influencing coaching turnover.
“I’m not (surprised), because everybody’s raising money to pay players,” Saban told ESPN.
“So, the people that are giving the money think they have a voice, and they’re just like a bunch of fans,” he said. “When they get frustrated and disappointed, they put pressure on the (athletic directors) to take action, and it’s the way of the world.”
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who is considered a top candidate for the vacant Florida head coaching job, equates SEC parity and pressure to that of the professional ranks.
“It’s like the NFL every week,” Kiffin said of the competitive balance and parity brought about by lenient transfer rules and NIL-related inducements.
“(But) different than the NFL, where you go 10-6 or 9-7, you make the playoffs, OK, good job, (but) what happens in this conference?” he asked.
The answer is, coaches get fired amid expectations that predate the reality of this current landscape of parity.
The SEC is on par with last year’s NFL when it comes to head coaching turnover: Seven of 32 NFL coaches were fired or not retained last season, while the 2025 campaign has already seen three of the 16 SEC coaches fired.
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
