Brian Kelly’s buyout isn’t saving him at LSU but something else will

Brian Kelly came to LSU in hopes of competing on the biggest stages in college football, and in two years with the program, he's won the Citrus Bowl and the Reliaquest Bowl — now in his third season coaching the Tigers, he's 6-4 after losing three straight games and his team is in danger of not making a bowl game at all.

Maybe the stage is a little too big.

Three weeks ago, LSU improved to 6-1 after crushing Arkansas 34-10, and things were looking pretty good in Baton Rouge! Next up on the schedule were Texas A&M and Alabama so LSU was entering a bit of a gauntlet, but winning one of those would at least keep the Tigers in a good spot in the rankings.

They lost both of those games and then lost to Florida yesterday. LSU's freefall has happened quickly — and public opinion of Brian Kelly has fallen with the team.

Kelly's buyout with LSU would cost the school about $61 million — how does one go about finding a job like that? Asking for a friend.

Although that's a stunning number, it's not unprecedented in college football for schools to eat massive amounts of money to get rid of a coach — a little over a year ago, Texas A&M fired Jimbo Fisher and paid him $76 million. Will Kelly "suffer" the same fate? Not yet, but if things get really bad in Baton Rouge, his huge buyout number probably won't save his job. If the relationships between Kelly and his players keep heading in the direction they appear to be headed, though, who knows?

Maybe LSU will decide to pull the plug on this experiment, which hasn't been disastrous but certainly hasn't lived up to the "National Championship competitor" billing it got when Kelly signed with LSU.

There is a bright spot on the horizon for Kelly, though, and that bright spot is shining from Belleville, Michigan, the hometown of Bryce Underwood.

5-star phenom quarterback Bryce Underwood is Brian Kelly's best hope

Tigers fans who have already given up on this season are likely finding solace in the YouTube highlights of Bryce Underwood, the top-ranked high school recruit in the country who is committed to play for Kelly and LSU next season. Underwood's effortless arm strength, pinpoint accuracy and improving mobility are a recipe for domination at the college level and beyond.

Underwood is widely viewed as a franchise quarterback at the NFL level and has been the top prospect in next year's class for a long time. He committed to the Tigers in January of 2024, much to the chagrin of Michigan and Michigan State fans who were hoping Underwood would stay in his home state.

Instead, he heads south to try and get Kelly's Tigers back on a winning path. If any one player can make that happen, it's a quarterback who many scouts believe will be the prize in a late-2020s draft class. Brian Kelly's future as LSU head coach might rest on Underwood's shoulders. No pressure.