LSU is searching for a new head coach after Brian Kelly lasted less than four seasons. Michael DeMocker / Getty Images

Kelly was fired Sunday, one day after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M dropped the Tigers to 5-3 and all but knocked them out of the College Football Playoff race. Kelly went to LSU from Notre Dame in 2021 in a shocking jump. The stated purpose was to win a national championship like LSU's three previous coaches, but Kelly lost at least three games in all four seasons and never got close to the CFP.

His tenure ended after consecutive losses to his former Notre Dame defensive coordinators Clark Lea (Vanderbilt head coach) and Mike Elko (Texas A&M), putting him at 34-14 in Baton Rouge.

So how good is the LSU job? What names could get in the mix? Based on conversations with industry sources, here is a report card for the job and the potential candidates to watch.

The expectation at LSU is national championships, and for good reason. LSU has as much upside as any program in the country, winning three national championships since 2003 under three head coaches -- Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron -- who each did so within four years. Yet Orgeron was fired less than two years after winning his title. That's the bar that's been set.

Kelly won at least nine games in each of his first three seasons. That's not bad! But it's not good enough here, and when the 2025 season started to go sideways, fans checked out on him.

LSU's last two coaches each won more than 70 percent of their games, but it didn't matter. Might it be an impossible standard in this new era of college football? Those past titles didn't come amid this new era of unlimited transfers and name, image and likeness, which have flattened the top of the sport. It may not be fair, but it's still where the fans are. LSU has to dominate, and it never did under Kelly, going 5-11 against ranked teams.

As far as tradition, LSU's Tiger Stadium was recently ranked the No. 1 college football stadium by The Athletic's staff. Its night games remain a special environment. The college football feel here is as strong as anywhere.

Much like Penn State, which fired James Franklin earlier this month, the LSU job opens not in free fall or in need of a complete rebuild. This was a preseason top-10 team that won nine games in a "down" year last year. There's a lot to work with.

LSU ranks No. 6 nationally in 247Sports' Team Talent rankings, which are based on high school recruiting rankings. There's plenty of talent, though how much will stick around is yet to be seen. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier will be gone, out of eligibility. It's hard to predict which players will stay after a coaching change, though new transfer portal rules don't allow players to officially enter the portal until Jan. 2 or five days after a new coach is hired. That new coach could also bring players from his former school.

But talented linebacker Harold Perkins has another year of eligibility. Freshman running back Harlem Berry has looked good in recent games. Leading receiver Aaron Anderson has another year of eligibility. LSU's roster has potential.

LSU has also long held the advantage of being the only Power 4 team in its talent-rich state, regularly pulling in most of the top local talent. According to the 247Sports Composite, six of the top eight recruits in Louisiana in the Class of 2026 were committed to LSU, including No. 1 overall recruit Lamar Brown, who goes to school on LSU's campus. It's hard to know what will happen to that recruiting class now, but Louisiana prospects often pick LSU because it's LSU, not because of who the coach is.

LSU has greatly improved in the roster-spending game. Although it lost once-committed five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood to Michigan, and Kelly in the past expressed frustration with LSU striking out in the portal, Kelly said before this season that LSU spent $18 million on players. That was more than triple the $5.5 LSU reportedly paid the year prior. (It's also why there was so much more frustration about this year's middling results.) That's not at the level of the top spenders, but it's now more competitive.

Kelly was a top-10-paid coach in college football at more than $10 million annually. The buyout to fire him costs around $53 million, per his contract, which is the second-highest buyout in college football history. But that would be paid in monthly installments into 2031, making it easier to manage, and would be offset by whatever Kelly makes from his next football-related job, decreasing that total amount. If Kelly -- still a winning coach -- takes another Power 4 job, more than half of that buyout could ultimately come off the books. That is all if the school and Kelly don't negotiate some other kind of settlement.

LSU doesn't have a full-time president right now, as William Tate left for Rutgers in May. The school is down to its finalists, but there is a lack of a leading voice at the top at a pivotal moment. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has also jumped into various LSU athletics issues, including the talks around Kelly's future.

It was Landry who pushed for LSU to bring a live caged Tiger back onto the field before the game last year, drawing widespread criticism. Landry also posted on X on Saturday night that LSU's board should reverse its decision last week to raise football ticket prices in 2026. Politicians jumping into school and athletics issues typically creates more problems than it solves, and it's something the next coach will need to be able to handle.

Athletic director Scott Woodward has a strong track record, but his past few football hires haven't hit. He brought Chris Petersen to Washington, but Jimbo Fisher didn't work out at Texas A&M (though Woodward was gone before Fisher got an extension and $77 million buyout). Although Kelly didn't work at LSU, Woodward hired baseball coach Jay Johnson and women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey, both of whom have won recent national championships.

So who could get in the mix? Here are names to watch.

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin: He's the biggest name to watch in this whole carousel, and he also might be busy with an Ole Miss postseason run, as the Rebels are ranked in the top 10 after a win at Oklahoma and have a clear path to the College Football Playoff. He's led Ole Miss to its most successful run in decades, likely en route to a fourth top-11 finish in five years. Florida is expected to pursue him. It would make sense for LSU to look, too. But how long can anyone wait if Ole Miss is playing into late December -- and perhaps beyond?

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea: Kelly's former defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, Lea has turned Vandy from an SEC doormat into a top-10 team and beat LSU on Oct. 18 with what simply looked like the better team. The Commodores have started 7-1 with the lone loss to Alabama. Lea has built a culture of belief while competing against programs with more resources. Imagine what he could do with those resources. But, like Kiffin, what if Lea is dealing with a Playoff appearance? It also may be too hard to pull the Nashville native away from his alma mater.

Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz: He has turned Mizzou into a contender in the loaded SEC, winning at least 10 games in each of the past two years, and he's off to a 6-2 start this year. Drinkwitz has helped the Tigers get talented players and stay in contention, but Mizzou will always have a difficult path in the SEC. LSU offers higher upside.

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key: He has brought consistent success to the Yellow Jackets, who started 8-0, and his teams have played Georgia close multiple times as a big underdog. Key is 26-16 in four seasons, and his teams play hard and with toughness, similar to the mold of Mike Elko at Texas A&M. But again, like Kiffin, what if Georgia Tech is in the CFP? Pulling Key away from his alma mater too, especially in that scenario, could be difficult. But it's worth noting the athletic director who hired Key is no longer there, and Georgia Tech's finances are limited.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman: Hiring Brian Kelly's replacement at Notre Dame might be strange, and Freeman may not be interested, but he would be worth a call. Freeman's coaching style is different and more player-friendly than Kelly's, and Freeman took Notre Dame to the national championship game a year ago.

Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall: He's expected to be one of the hottest names in this cycle around multiple SEC openings, as he's 38-10 overall with two Sun Belt championships at Troy and an American Conference championship game appearance last year and a 6-1 start this year at Tulane. He also has SEC experience as an assistant at Ole Miss and player and coach at Kentucky. Sumrall is an Alabama native who has embraced and been embraced by the city of New Orleans. But the last time the LSU job was open, the Tigers quickly passed on another Louisiana Group of 5 head coach in Billy Napier. Does LSU feel it's bigger than hiring the Tulane coach? Other SEC schools probably hope so.

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady: He spent 2019 as LSU's passing game coordinator and fueled a record-breaking offense and national championship team with Joe Burrow. He also spent two years in New Orleans with the Saints. But Brady looks on track for an NFL head coaching job and has not yet indicated he wants a return to college.

Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm: He just knocked off No. 2 Miami, putting him at 4-0 against top-five teams in the regular season. He took the Cardinals to the ACC title game in 2023 and Purdue to a Big Ten title game the year before that, and now Louisville is 6-1 and ranked in the top 20. Pulling Brohm away from his alma mater might be tough, but he gets the most out of his teams.

This is a top-five job in college football and long has been. When factoring in the access to talent, the fan support, the unique tie LSU has to its local talent and the three national championships since 2003, the job offers almost everything a coach would want. It's not a perfect job, as the school leadership is a bit shaky, and the roster-spending still needs to improve, but anything could happen with this coaching search. LSU is a special job.

Is LSU college football's best job? Pluses, minuses and candidates with Brian Kelly out