Brian Kelly listed among 8 coaches with the best chance to win first national championship

With the retirement of Nick Saban, a fairly large power vacuum is left behind in the sport.

Now, only three active coaches — Kirby Smart, Dabo Swinney and Mack Brown — have won national titles. With Saban out and taking his seven career championships with him, who will be the next to join that club.

On3’s Jesse Simonton recently broached that topic. He came up with a list of eight coaches who he thinks are next in line and currently well poised to compete for championships in the near future.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Brian Kelly — who is now the winningest active coach in the FBS by a one-game margin over Brown — cracked that list.

Here’s what Simonton said about Kelly’s chances.

The last two coaches on the list will forever be linked considering Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU precisely to win championships. The Tigers’ last three head coaches all won titles and Kelly is looking to continue that streak. He has a pair of 10-win seasons to start his Tigers’ tenure and is recruiting at an elite level. If LSU fixes its defense, the Tigers could compete for the SEC — and national title — as soon as next year.

Kelly has won two national titles in his career at the Division II level, but he’s still looking for that elusive first FBS title. He came to LSU in search of it, and Simonton thinks the foundation is in place for this program to get there.

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Story originally appeared on LSU Tigers Wire


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/brian-kelly-listed-among-8-191754109.html

Author : LSU Tigers Wire

Publish date : 2024-01-26 19:17:54

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