Copyright outkick
When LSU hired Brian Kelly in December 2021, it sent shockwaves through the college football world. Sure, a lot of people deemed it a disaster from a culture-fit perspective, but they'd be lying if they said they didn't think he would be massively successful there at the time. Kelly was fresh off a five-year stretch where his Notre Dame Fighting Irish won ten or more games every year and never finished outside the top 12. If he could do it in a place like South Bend, where tough academic standards and distance from recruiting hot beds make talent acquisition harder than it needs to be, then surely he could win at LSU. The recruiting practically takes care of itself in Baton Rouge, so much so that even the notoriously prickly Kelly was able to reel in multiple top-10 classes. However, after Saturday's blowout loss to Texas A&M at home — a place where the Tigers are nigh unbeatable after sunset — it looks like the Brian Kelly experiment is going down the drain. Don't believe me? Just ask the fans. This begs the question: are these LSU fans "toxic" for wanting their head coach fired? After all, Kelly is 34-14 in three and a half years on the bayou, and has an SEC West Division banner and a Heisman winner to his name. Shouldn't these fans show some patience? Absolutely not! But why isn't anyone else asking these questions when Florida Gators fans were just put through the ringer all this past week for the same thing? Kelly and former Florida coach Billy Napier were hired during the same cycle, and Napier has a far worse record (22-23) than his contemporary to the west. Kelly even owns a 3-1 head-to-head record against Napier. Yet the media calls Florida fans "spoiled" and "toxic" for wanting to get rid of their impotent head coach while they remain silent as the LSU fans call for the head of a far more successful man. And here's the kicker: both fan bases are correct. The standard at schools like Florida and LSU is to compete for and win championships. Billy Napier showed he wasn't the guy to be able to do that at Florida, and now Kelly is showing much of the same at LSU. This season was supposed to be the year everything aligned perfectly for Kelly to make a deep run with the Tigers, and it's looking like that won't be happening. Programs like LSU and Florida shouldn't need "windows." Every year should be a "championship year" with the right coach. So, no. Neither the Gators nor the Tigers are a toxic fanbase for demanding excellence from their football coaches and programs. To suggest anything less displays a gross misunderstanding of both fanbases and their expectations. SEC football isn't for everyone, and it's starting to become abundantly clear who's who in that regard.
