When Brian Kelly arrived Sunday morning, intent on making staff changes to try to fix an LSU season quickly going off the rails, he could not get into LSU’s football facility.
His thumbprint to get into the LSU Football Operations Center didn’t work, sources told CBS Sports. It took a couple minutes and some help before Kelly finally got in and was able to get up to his office, where the trouble continued.
When it was shared Sunday morning, the fingerprint snafu felt like a funny anecdote just hours after a disastrous 64th birthday for Kelly, whose LSU Tigers had been crushed at home, 49-25, by No. 3 Texas A&M. It was reminiscent of the famous clip of former LSU Tiger Jamal Adams being unable to get into the New York Jets’ football building and immediately thinking he might have gotten cut. But for all its humor, that moment did capture something real about Kelly’s LSU tenure: From the day he arrived, he never seemed to fully belong.
By Sunday night, Kelly again needed help getting buzzed into the football facility. This time there was intent behind it. He had already been informed of his firing after four seasons as LSU’s head coach.
A hire once celebrated as a home run for LSU AD Scott Woodward now ends in the second-largest buyout in college football history ($53.8 million), though negotiations are ongoing to lower that total number.
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Why didn’t it work for Kelly at LSU?
You’ll hear the word fit — or lack thereof — thrown around a lot in hindsight of LSU’s decision to fire Kelly. From the early weird pronunciation of “family” mishap to calling out LSU fans for being spoiled, Kelly never seemed to understand how to authentically connect with the LSU fanbase. It always felt like a politician trying too hard to be…
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