It was totally unexpected to former LSU head coach Brian Kelly. Despite having a respectable 34-14 record over four years, his LSU journey ended following a 5-3 start last season. Now, in his first interview since his firing on Dusty and Danny in the Morning on SiriusXM, Brian Kelly opened up about his feelings on that mid-season decision.

“We came there to build a program, and you know, we didn’t get a chance to finish it. So I think the overriding emotion in that respect is, you know, disappointed that we didn’t get to finish the job,” said Kelly during his last week’s appearance.

“I think that’s probably the one thing, because I’ve been in it long enough to know, as you said in your first comments, you know you’re in this long enough you’re probably going to get fired, but I never thought that would occur. So I think the emotions more anything else for me was disappointment.”

Joining LSU in 2021, Kelly signed a 10-year, $95 million contract with incentives. However, following a 49–25 loss to Texas A&M in 2025, his coaching journey with the Tigers ended in 3 and a half years. In that span, his first two seasons led LSU to 10 wins capped with a 3-game winning streak, but 2024 didn’t see that level of success with a 9-4 record. Still, that season the Tigers won the Texas Bowl. In fact, Kelly was a perfect 3–0 in bowl games.

Despite those successes, his time at LSU didn’t lead the program to the CFP a single time, and that may have forced the school to fire Kelly in the middle of the 2025 season. After all, his three predecessors as Tigers coach had all led the program to titles by the end of their fourth full seasons. The former LSU coach, though, put things into an eye-opening perspective.

“Let’s put it in perspective. You know, I’ve had 33 years in this business and over 300 wins. You know, had two losing seasons in 33 years. So, you know, my entire career has been built upon, you know, having some kind of success,” added Kelly.

“And when you get fired, you’re told that you’re not the guy for the job. And so, you know, that’s probably the first thing you start thinking about, you know, the things that you’ve done for three decades. You look carefully about why this happened, and look, the easy answer is, I didn’t win enough games. You know, that’s the bottom line, right?”

Before coming to Baton Rouge, Kelly showed his prowess with Notre Dame, Central Michigan, and Cincinnati. He finished his Notre Dame journey with a 92–39 record as the winningest coach in school history and reached the 2013 BCS Championship and two CFPs. Even at Cincinnati, he showed his fireworks, leading them to two Big East titles.

So Kelly knows the taste of winning. Still, behind his firing from LSU, the school cited his failure to meet the program’s championship standards. Moreover, LSU AD Scott Woodward stated that the “success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.”

Following that, Brian Kelly walked away from LSU with a $54 million buyout. Now that Kelly’s era is over, LSU’s hunger for a championship still burns strong. And with new LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, their investment reflects that.

Brian Kelly’s huge revelation about LSU’s financial shift

Last Wednesday, months after his exit, Brian Kelly finally weighed in on the direction LSU has taken under new head coach Lane Kiffin. Speaking on SiriusXM’s College Sports channel, Kelly pulled back the curtain on the Tigers’ aggressive roster spending.

When asked how much LSU is paying its 2026 roster, Kelly said, “More than $40 million, I’ll tell you that.”

It suggests LSU now boasts the most expensive roster, and the spending spree has fueled an extraordinary portal haul, highlighted by the additions of top-ranked QB Sam Leavitt, elite OT Jordan Seaton, and more. But that’s not all, as the Tigers reportedly secured 40 players through the transfer portal. As of now, with this kind of investment, expectations in Baton Rouge are no longer subtle.

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Interestingly, the strategy mirrors the blueprint Kiffin previously used to transform Ole Miss into a CFP contender. But this $40 million could put Kiffin under huge pressure. Still, if Kiffin is able to do what Brian Kelly didn’t provide in Baton Rouge, this investment will help LSU make history.