Brian Kelly shocked the college football world when he suddenly left Notre Dame after over a decade at the helm to take the high-profile LSU head coaching job.
His reasoning for doing so was likely money, but to also accomplish a certain feat.
Appearing on the Varsity House Podcast, Kelly made it clear he really wants to beat Alabama’s Nick Saban.
“I want to beat Nick Saban. Who doesn’t want to beat Nick Saban? You know what I mean?” Kelly acknowledged. “I want to play him in the regular season. That’s the standard. Now, he’s a conference opponent.”
New LSU Football Coach Brian Kelly “runs” to the opportunity to take on Nick Saban every year… #LSU #SEC @varsityhousepod @LSUfootball @ShaunCrawf20
Full Episode Here – https://t.co/2s0yQFJ0Oz pic.twitter.com/tvcs7zeG5m— Varsity House Podcast (@varsityhousepod) May 25, 2022
Brian Kelly is on a mission ? pic.twitter.com/7o1oj4GkYr
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 31, 2022
Kelly faced Alabama twice as the Fighting Irish’s head coach, and neither occasion worked out well for him. On New Year’s Day in 2021, Notre Dame suffered a 31-14 loss to Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Welp, in his two chances at Notre Dame he lost by an average of….. 22.5 points ??? https://t.co/51mI82mhA7
— Tim Daniel (No S at the end of my last name) (@TimDaniel518) May 31, 2022
Every national title winner since the 2014 team has either been Alabama or a team that beat Alabama somewhere along the way.
Kelly has some work to do.