College Football Live - CFB Live- Addressing the Coaching Carousel

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

Join our crew Zubin Mehenti, Sam Acho, Tom Luginbill, and Pete Thamel as they address the 8th power four conference head coach firing of the season...what went wrong for Brian Kelly? Where will he go next? And who will fill all these open positions when the season comes to an end? Pete Thamel gives his newsworthy notes around CFB and the guys breakdown a possible 3-ACC team CFP Bracket...all this and more on today's episode of CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And we welcome you to college football live on this Tuesday. Welcome inside with Pete Dammel, Tom Luginville, and Sam Acho. I'm Zubin Mahanty. After more than $167 million in buyout money has been spent, the million dollar question now, who coaches LSU, who gates Lane Kippen? Or is that answer one and the same? Let's talk about it. You know the deal.

On Saturday morning, Brian Kelly woke up. It was his 64th birthday. It's one he's going to remember. but for all the wrong reasons. I'm sure many of you saw this game. A&M reeled off 35 in a row. Hard to remember. LSU actually had the lead at the half of this game,

and then the signs were out. Got to go. G-E-A-U-X, and on Sunday, Brian Kelly was gone. What's notable, I'm sure you know this if you're a hardcore college football fan. LSU's last three coaches prior to Kelly all won the national title.

What's most instructive to know is they all did it within their first four seasons on the job. And Kelly was now in his fourth season and obviously things were not trending in that direction. So let's have a discussion about this. It's the biggest story in the sport, another weekend, another coaching firing time. I want to begin with you. It's super important who LSU obviously hires, but what's really important in your mind is everything that that coach is going to inherit. Absolutely. I think that this is a top three job in America, top five at an absolute minimum.

Listen, you're the only major football playing institution at the power four level within the state. You could drive down I-10 and throw a rock out the window and hit a four or five-star player statewide. So you've got tremendous in-state recruiting base. You also are going to be a hot destination for that select group of players that they choose to leave to go to a Texas or in Alabama or somewhere. And when they get to that portal, they're going to come back to you. You are fully resourced, as we've seen by the ton of money that they are about to throw out there to, to hire a new staff and remove Brian Kelly and his staff. So I think that this job is an elite level job for so many different reasons.

And when people talk about Lane Kiffin, this job is a way better job than the Florida job, in my opinion. LSU is bigger than a coach. LSU is culture. LSU doesn't need Brian Kelly. Think about it. Think about the current NFL stars that we're seeing. Guys like Jamar Chase and Justin Jefferson, former NFL stars, Patrick Peterson, and Tyron Matthew, even WMBA stars and LSU stars,

Flauget and Angel Reese, there's so much culture that people love the LSU, the brand, the name. They called a DBU for the longest time. And so whether Brian Kelly is there or Brian Kelly isn't, players are going to want to go to a place like LSU, even in the media, Ryan Clark and Swagoo, they wear their emotion and their LSU on their sleeve.

So this is an unbelievable opportunity for anybody who gets this coaching job. It's not like a place like Florida where it could be more of a struggle to try and get things turned around. The talent is there in Florida, but also in LSU. And there's so much of a winning culture, if you will, so much talent that you could pretty much walk in and win. All right. Bottom line, though, all great points. They do need a coach. That's for sure.

I'm not an insider, but I know that much. So Pete, let's go to you. So I'm thinking James Franklin gets fired on a Sunday. Six days later, he shows up with you in the game day gang. It says immediately, I want a coach, and the race is on. So tell us what the future holds the immediate future here for Brian Kelly. Yeah, I've been told by sources that Brian Kelly does want to coach again, whether that's immediately next season or down the line. Brian Kelly's plan is to return coaching in college football.

Look, Zubman, LSU is a place that has churned out championships. Sometimes despite its head coaches, right? And Brian Kelly won 71% of his games there. The people in charge at LSU did not view that as good. enough. They didn't view 71% of the games there as enough to continue going. But Brian Kelly is the winningest active football coach. I guess he's not active anymore, but he wasn't until Saturday. The winningest active football coach in college football right now in terms of total wins. He won at Grand Valley. He won at Cincinnati. He won at Central Michigan. He won big at Notre Dame.

There's another act left for Brian Kelly, and I'd expect him to chase that in the near future. Yeah, he is 276 as an FBS coach. Let that sink in for a second. 100 wins, 76 losses. One more followed to you, Pete. I just thought it was coincidental, maybe ironic, that LSU was playing Texas A&M on Saturday because Scott Woodward, who was once the athletic director at A&M, now LSU, has signed off on, literally and figuratively,

the two biggest buyouts in all of college football history. Jimbo Fisher followed by Brian Kelly. Who was going to end up making this critical hire for LSU if I'm telling you that's the most recent history with Woodward's coaching hires? Yeah, Zubin, as of right now, and look, it's Louisiana and Louisiana politics. Everything is very fluid, very volatile. Remember, the governor wanted a live tiger on the sidelines and had a large public push for that last year when we were down there for college game day.

So certainly nothing is certain or stable, but as of right now, Scott Woodward's name is on the press release, and he is pushing forward to make this higher. Scott Woodward's playbook is a simple one. He is a big game hunter, no pun intended with Mike the Tiger there. Scott Woodward hired Chris Peterson from Boise to Washington. He hired Jim Bo Fisher initially at Texas A&M. I believe Ross Bjork signed off on the extension there that led to the bigger buyout. And then obviously he hired Buzz Williams at Texas A&M, left a couple days later, and then hired Brian Kelly at LSU.

He is not going to look for the special teams coach from McNeese for this job. Zubin, if you look at his history, that is how he is going to fulfill it. And as of right now, he is the one leading the search. there is no president at LSU. So there's a power vacuum there. And not surprisingly, with the volatile nature of Louisiana politics, people are trying to fill that power vacuum. No doubt. Governor Landry, heavily involved in the LSU president just became the Rutgers president.

So there is a leadership vacuum in place. So the next question really comes down to. It's the sea change of everybody looking for a coach. The power for head coaching openings, there are some bold-faced schools here looking for a head coach that will likely be chasing. Lane Kiffin. Kiffin was on the Pat McAfee show yesterday, and he talked about money not being a factor, but it might be for his agent.

I have never made a decision based off of money, nor will I. Love that. For a lot of people, they're just like, well, money, and it does this, and I've seen too many examples in life where money does not buy happiness. So I am never going to make a decision off money, nor do I care about it. It's good to have them. Jimmy Sexton gets really mad.

when I say that. He's got enough. We got to get this. We got to get this. And I'm like, Jimmy, I don't care. And he goes, I do. That's some great stuff from Lane. I don't want to be too Pollyanna-ish about this, Pete.

But his extended family has moved back there. His son is playing really well for the local high school football team. He had a game winning touchdown a couple of weeks ago. I understand Money's money, but he's 50 now. And he seems like he's in a different place in life. That said, if we were in the fast lane, looking at a place for Lane, What are we thinking about in terms of what's out there and the buzz you're seeing? Yeah, Zubin, there's no question that Lane Kiffin is the buzz,

and he is on the lips of the power brokers at both Florida and LSU. And look, what Old Miss has helped him build there has been incredible. And I think if you look back at what the piece Ryan McGee did for E-60 on Lane Kiffin, we'll either look at that as a love letter if he stays or a thank you letter if he leaves. Right now, it's hard to imagine Lane Kiffin coaching at Old. Ole Miss next year. The opportunity that looms at either LSU or Florida is too big. The variable here, Zubin, that's going to be fascinating and is going to loom over the last two months of this season is how the dynamics would work if Old Miss indeed does make the playoff, which they are on target to do right now,

if they keep winning as they have. Regular season ends November 29th. They could play in the SEC champ game a week later. And the college football playoff does not start until December 9th. It would either be a high wire act where whatever job wants Lane and has some kind of agreement with Lane, maybe verbally, keeps the job open and waits for it to happen when it would be obvious. It plays out that way. Or they announce it beforehand, which would be awkward too. So it's going to be a fascinating race here for Lane Kiffin and to see how he handles it with a playoff team. No question, Pete, because, you know, you're risking a recruiting class.

You're risking a transfer portal class. yet at the same time, the reason you're higher in the guy is because potentially he's going to take this team deep into the playoffs. You know, there used to be a saying in the coaching profession, you're never going to get rich in coaching. Well, that's no longer true and hasn't been since the advent of cable television. And Lane Kiffin's right, whether you're making $7 million or $9 million, $8 million or $11 million. When you've already acquired generational wealth, you get to make these decisions based off of, do you want a new challenge? Do you want to be at a place that you think is better resource to give you an opportunity to get your team to Atlanta, to not just make the college football playoff, but be a legitimate national title contender each and every year? So when money is removed from that equation, you can make some more clear-headed decisions on what's best for you and what you think the future of your career is going to be.

And I think that's a healthy place for Lane Kiffin or any other coach in the mix. James Franklin, all of these guys, they don't have to worry about putting food on the table. They can make decisions based off the industry strength of where they could end up. Fascinating perspective, Tom. Sam, let's go to you. You know, I mean, the polar opposite here. Brian Kelly may not have been a good fit at LSU, but who in the world could have been a better fit than Mr. Cajun country himself at Orgeron?

So those are two extremes. Both coached the teams. Both ended up out, but both at polar opposite views of what actually makes you fit at a program like that. You played. Take me inside the world of fit in culture and how that plays a part in how these hiring will be made. Well, the biggest thing is don't try to win the press conference, try to win the actual game.

We've seen so many teams, whether it's the athletic director or the people who are giving a lot of the money, want to win the press conference, get a hire that they think that they think makes sense, but that doesn't connect with the players in the locker room or the players who are being recruited. And I think that's where a lot of these organizations are losing. Look at Bill Belichick right now. Bill Belichick and Bubba Cunningham, the AD in North Carolina, they won the press conference, right?

You saw him with a pullover, pullover, sleeveless. Not a hoodie, but a jacket. Man, it looked great. Well, they're two and five right now. They can't find a way to win. Versus the other side is Kurt Signetti. Kurt Signetti did not win the press conference, at least in my opinion. He was on Indiana halftime basketball trying to cheer on saying, hey, man, you know, he says, what he's talking about?

He's like, man, Michigan sucks. Ohio State sucks. They were laughing at him when he said that in Bloomington. Yet now all of a sudden, they're one of the best teams in the nation. So you have to think more long term. Luke, you're talking about generational wealth when it comes. to these coaches and how much money they're making. But when you think about some of the players,

think about the next generation of kids and who's going to be coaching them and shaping those young men, not necessarily the decision makers or the boosters who are trying to win the press conference. Well, Sam, you're so right. This decision needs to be so much more about substance than flair, right? And unfortunately, to Pete's point earlier

about some of the dynamics of politics and bureaucracy and the hands in the cookie jar that get involved in all of these decisions, Somebody, whether that's the AD, the president, whoever the decision maker is in this institution, whoever it may be, that person's going to have to be strong enough to tell everybody in the peanut gallery, you stay over there, shut your mouths, this is what we're doing, this is who we're hiring, and this is why. And that's not an easy thing to do, right? Kansas did it with Lance Leipold, all right? Clark Lee was a coordinator at Notre Dame, now at Vanderbilt. Brent Key was an offensive line coach Had not been a coordinator

Was the interim coach at Georgia Tech That guy had the guts to say This is the guy that fits us the best So now we'll see if some of these big boys Have that same level of intestinal fortitude Necessarily the sexiest hire I understand he had time Oh yeah

At A&M as an defensive coordinator But man this guy was a Duke And a defensive mind yet look at what he's done To the A&M program And so it has to be less about the ADs And the boosters Excuse me really less about the AD the boosters, and the ADs have to have the courage to make a decision that's best for the players in the program.

Yeah, last thing I would mention, the three sitting head coaches right now in our sport with the national championship, Kirby Smart, Davos, Sweeney, Ryan Day. None of them were head coaches until they got the job they currently have. You can win in a variety of different ways. On the way here on college football live, Tom's got a tricky formula as we're at Halloween week. Miami making the playoff without making their conference title. game. How does that happen? Time with the answer next. I think Virginia is a team that we need to be talking about more for an ACC championship. Why? Because from all the teams that are competitive, Virginia has the easiest path there. North Carolina has been struggling mightily. Cal is a great

opportunity. Wake, Wake Forest. Obviously, Duke is going to be a challenge. But man, I look at Virginia's schedule versus the schedules of a Georgia Tech and of Miami. And that's an easier path for me. of the kind of Virginia. I think Pitt's been playing outstanding as well, but their schedule isn't as conducive to making a championship as Virginia's is. Time to go by lottery tickets with Sam. That was something else. That was last week on the show. You probably saw what happened over the weekend, another heartbreaking defeat for North Carolina. But for the purposes of this discussion, it's UVA that was able to escape with the win after stopping Carolina right

there on that two-point conversion try. They've had three overtime games. They had a safety late to beat Washington State. They're living on a razor's edge. They are the cardiac calves. They are getting it done. Sam, I want to go to you first here on this. A reminder, their one loss was to NC State. It's a conference opponent, but it's not a conference game.

Just keep that in mind down the stretch with how jumbled the ACC is. So a week later, here we are back in color now. Do you still buy into what you said last week? Absolutely buy into it. Why? Because you talked about it. this last four games, three of them, Virginia has won in overtime. You might say that's luck, or maybe that's just a team that knows how to win.

Last week versus Washington State at the end of the game, Tony Elliott gave an impassioned speech saying, guys, we have something on our hands. We have a chance to make history. Let's not waste it. North Carolina, last week played a really, really good game, yet they came up just in short. They didn't make the plays, and Virginia did. Even though Virginia did struggle throughout the game.

So I still believe not just based off of their schedule, which I still think is favorable, but also based off the fact that they have an understanding of how to win. Well, you talked about the schedule being favorable. Let's take a look at it. Best chance to reach the ACC championship game. Right now, the analytics still say Georgia Tech is the overwhelming favorite to reach the title game. But that doesn't necessarily mean you can't make the playoff. And that's the distinction I want to go to here with Tom.

Right before the break, Tom, I mentioned that you were coming up with a way that, you know, Miami doesn't even have to make the ACA. title game to get themselves into the college football playoff. Take us through your rationale. That's quite a bold statement. Well, yeah, and I think it actually could happen either way. They could not make the ACC championship game, be 11 and 1 and be left out, but also be included with non-conference wins against South Florida and Notre Dame.

Now, let's keep in one. We just showed that graphic into the percentage to make the ACC championship game. The issue for Miami right now is that Georgia Tech, Virginia, and Miami do not play each other. So if we just, nobody has a crystal ball, but if we just forecast forward, let's just say Georgia Tech and Virginia, they make the ACC championship game.

We project forward. Georgia Tech wins it. Virginia is the loser. Do we leave Virginia out? We didn't leave SMU out a year ago. And SMU had a similar favorable schedule to Virginia's schedule in 2025. But that would leave Miami sitting there at 11 and 1.

and not having played in the ACC championship game. And you could say the same thing about Louisville. What if Louisville finds their way into the ACC championship game? And now they have the head-to-head versus Miami. So there are scenarios based off of how the committee would view Miami. Because I think the eye test tells us Miami is a pretty good looking football team. But they could legitimately, not just possibly, but it could be probable, that they don't make the ACC championship game and could still get in.

which could maybe include three teams in the college football playoff if the committee deemed it worthy out of the ACC alone. But it may be more probable that they don't make the ACC championship game and are left out. The reason why is let's just say, let's project a little bit forward and say that Virginia and Georgia Tech, they neither of them lose. They make the ACC championship game.

And let's just say that Georgia Tech were to lose in the ACC championship game. Virginia would be the conference champion. They would make it likely because of how high they'd be run. ranked and then Georgia Tech would only have one loss. Now you're wondering, okay, a Georgia Tech team that only has one loss that played in that conference championship game, do you keep them in or do you have that Miami team in? And so Miami's best path would be to try to make it to that conference championship game to try to make the playoff.

All right. So one thing we know about Miami, obviously, is they have their quarterback. I'm not sure what the deal is here with Auburn as we bring Pete back in. All right, Pete. Auburn finally got their first SEC winner the season last weekend. Hooray for that. But they have a much bigger question to answer moving forward. Take us through this.

Yeah, Zubin, Hugh Freeze is being a little bit coy this week in whether Ashton Daniels or Jackson Arnold is going to be the starting quarterback. Jackson Arnold threw a punitive pick six at the end of the first half of that Arkansas game, got benched. Ashton Daniels came in, completed six, eight passes, proved a threat with his legs, 35 rushing yards. And it will be decided this week as they split reps who will push forward and be the starter against Kentucky this weekend. That quarterback spot has been vexing for the Tigers this. year. As for Texas Tech, Zubin, Will Hammond is out for the year with a torn ACL. We reported that over the weekend, and Joy McGuire said this week that Baron Morton is going to return to start. They play a tough game at Kansas State, which is won two games in a row, and Baron Morton's

return from that leg injury is going to be key. Tech is without its backup quarterback for the rest of the year. They host BYU the following week in which should be a marquee matchup for the Red Raiders. That's right, November 8th. That's the game you want to circle that could end up perhaps determining who plays in the Big 12 championship game. Pete, as always, thanks for the updates. It's time for our Capital One, rewarding performance. And we're going to give this to Texas who, in overtime, knocked off Mississippi State. They were down by 17 points. But Arch rallied him until he got knocked out with a concussion. Caldwell came in. They made the big plays when they needed to. And Sark was fired up slash relieved, depending on. how things have gone the last two weeks, but he's gotten his done. Now, let's take a look at the college football playoff rankings brought to you by Chick-fil-A. One thing I want to mention here,

Vanderbilt is sitting there at nine. Vanderbilt has their highest national ranking right now since 1937. They have never, not once, finished in the final top 10. On the way, if you had to pick one final team, you wouldn't want to face with one week to go until the playoff committee releases their ranking.

Who's the squad you want to avoid the most? The fellows weigh in with who you want to stay away from next. Just a reminder, game day at Utah. And Rice Eccles for Cincinnati in Utah, Saturday morning at 9 Eastern. Let's take a look at the Allstate Playoff predictor. Ole Miss on the Rise, BYU, on the rise. And keep in mind, tomorrow on Championship Drive, Heather Dinnish, the playoff insider will join us as we stand one week from today.

from Reese and the gang unveiling the first college football playoff rankings when that'll be Tuesday, 7 o'clock Eastern on ESPN. All right, so I mentioned before the break, guys, with the playoff coming out with their first rankings a week from today. Who's the one team? Tom, let's start with you, that right now that you've seen, if you show up against them on your bracket, you're thinking, oh, no.

I'm going to go Texas A&M. And now I'm looking at it from all three phases of the game, not just offense defense, but the kicking game was a huge. huge, huge difference on Saturday night in Death Valley. But I think the thing about Texas A&M is they can run the football, they can rush surpasser. Marcel Reed is not just a runner. He can beat you with his arm.

And this is a football team right now. My new pastime every Saturday is to see how many third down conversions they give up on defense. This last weekend it was two, and it's been no more than two for the last five weeks. Yeah, I'll go Indiana, man. They're callous and they play really well. That'll do it. We will see tomorrow for College Football Live and Championship Drive.