Legendary Florida head coach defends Brian Kelly amid recent criticism

Despite the Tiger fanbase having an overall sense of insecurity about the current trajectory of LSU football under head coach Brian Kelly, former Florida and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier recently came to Kelly’s defense, notably touting his consistency thus far through 2024.

Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier defends Brian Kelly ahead of LSU-Florida matchup

The LSU football program most recently fell just short for the third time of the 2024 season, taking a loss against Kalen DeBoer and Alabama football over the weekend by a score of 42-13. It was an ugly showing for the Tigers, and when you add in the fact that the beatdown took place in Baton Rouge, LA, fans were understandably upset while leaving Tiger Stadium.

That said, the complaints have drawn on a bit longer than some within the program would have liked, especially considering when many fans have gone as far as to question whether head coach Brian Kelly is the right man for the job.

At best, the purple and gold will be able to come up with their third straight 10-win season under the former Notre Dame head coach, and while most programs would be content with results like that, it would appear that the Tiger faithful aren’t being quite so lenient.

Still, when it comes to the sport of college football, an emotional fanbase isn’t always known to be reasonable with their expectations. Particularly in the NIL era, many have come to expect immediate results, due in large part to the transfer portal and the ability for programs to bring in talent now. The thing about the transfer portal, though, is the fact that it doesn’t exactly build a program. It builds a team.

Brian Kelly is looking to build a program in Baton Rouge, and he’s looking to build one that might be able to go on to win championships, plural.

“Am I happy about what happened? No. Are our players? No. Nobody is. Nobody’s happy about that, but when it comes to an overall look at the program over the last year, we’re 10-3. We’ve won 10 out of our last 13 games,” the Tiger head coach said on Monday.

“A championship program is what we’re going to have here.”@LSUfootball head coach Brian Kelly after Saturday’s 42-13 Bama beatdown.

“I am happy about what happened? No. Are our players? No. Nobody is.” #LSU pic.twitter.com/xFFZ1GC7bo

— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) November 12, 2024

“We have one of the top recruiting classes in the country. Those things are only going to continue to get better. A championship program is what we’re going to have here. There’s going to be some stumbles along the way, but we’re gonna get back up, and we’re gonna keep building our program towards where it needs to be, and that’s a championship program.”

While people outside of the building might be a bit more hesitant to take his word as gospel, it’s important to at the very least listen, especially when legendary coaches from rival programs seem to share a similar sentiment, and even defend the man himself.

“It was interesting; I picked up a USA Today newspaper, and they were talking about Brian Kelly at LSU, and they said his record was a ‘pedestrian’ 26-10,” former Florida and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said on Another Dooley Noted Podcast. earlier this week. “Pedestrian? 26-10, that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? That’s averaging 9-3. They’re getting on Brian Kelly for that. Heck, we’re just hoping for a winning season here [at Florida] sometime soon.”

During his time coaching college football, Spurrier developed quite the reputation as being one of the best to ever do it. Amassing an overall record of 228-89-2 to go along with six SEC Championship victories, he generally knows what he’s talking about as far as football is concerned, and his defense of the current Tiger head coach should at the very least be noted moving forward.

The 6-3 Tigers were most recently ranked as the No. 22 team nationally, according to the latest version of the 2024 College Football Playoff rankings. While they technically aren’t completely eliminated from playoff contention, they’ll need some help from the rest of their conference if they want any chance at making the 12-team bracket come late December.

The purple and gold will next take the football field this Saturday, November 16, 2024, against Billy Napier and the Florida Gators. The SEC matchup will take place in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL, and will be available to watch live on ABC at 2:30 p.m. CT.

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