After missing the playoffs three straight years under Brian Kelly, LSU went all-in for the 2025 season. The Tigers reportedly spent over $20 million building the roster, and Kelly even chipped in a million from his own paycheck to bolster the squad. Back in May on The Paul Finebaum Show, Kelly confidently declared, “This is the best roster that we’ve put together.” Fast forward five months and 5–2 later, the Tigers haven’t exactly lived up to that “best roster” label — and one SEC analyst just exposed Kelly for walking back his own words.

The biggest red flag? LSU’s offensive line. It’s been a rough watch all season. The Tigers lost nearly all of their top linemen to the NFL Draft, leaving a young, inexperienced group trying to hold the fort. Unfortunately, that inexperience has shown. Kelly himself didn’t hold back after their loss against Vanderbilt over the weekend. “If we had another group, we’d certainly play them as well.” Funny thing is, that wasn’t his tone a few months ago.

On October 21, SEC Mike jumped on X and dropped a throwback clip from August, calling Kelly out for switching on his O-line and failing to cash in on pre-season failure promise: “These comments from Brian Kelly came two months ago. This week, his tune was much different: “Those are the best five guys we have out there. “If we had another group, we’d certainly play them as well.”

Then he shared a clip of a very different BK—one gassing up his line like they were the next great SEC unit: “I mean, look, I’ve coached for a long time, and a lot of guys in the NFL, a lot of first-round draft picks. I think I got a pretty good eye for what an offensive line looks like. This group is going to be really good. If you have a center that can kind of set the stage for that, it allows everything else to kind of fall into place. And it’s starting to fall into place quite nicely.” Now? It’s falling apart. Kelly’s sudden shift in tone and false promises didn’t sit well with fans. Many felt he was throwing his own players under the bus instead of standing by the words he sold back in August.

And to be fair, the stats aren’t doing him any favors. As of early October, Garrett Nussmeier was under pressure on 26.2% of plays — and that too against three-man fronts. The Tigers’ red-zone running game has been just as bad, ranking 133rd nationally with only 1.13 yards per rush inside the 20. But truth be told, this isn’t much of a surprise, though.

The O-line was gutted after four starters left for the NFL, leaving gaps upfront. Things got even worse in mid-October when starting left tackle Tyree Adams went down with an ankle injury, derailing what little stability they had left. Now, with a roster Kelly once called “the best we’ve put together,” LSU’s offensive line has unfortunately become their biggest liability — and possibly the deciding factor in Brian Kelly’s LSU tenure by the end of the year.

Brian Kelly’s hot-seat talk

Some believe Kelly could be fired if LSU finishes 8-4 or 7-5, even though it would cost the school $53 million to buy out his contract. “LSU has a way of finding the money, when they really need it or they really want it for football,” said Tiger Rag editor Glenn Guilbeau.

Firing Kelly wouldn’t just be expensive, but it would also require spending more money on a new coaching staff and roster changes. That’s why LSU hopes Kelly can still turn things around. “If they’re around 8-4, 9-3, maybe they might try to get by with Kelly making some key staff changes,” Guilbeau said, pointing to the offensive coordinator and offensive line as weak spots.

This season was supposed to be Kelly’s best team at LSU, but mistakes and poor coaching have held them back. “They keep making the same mistakes on offense,” Guilbeau said. The defense has been inconsistent too, especially against top teams. With a big game against No. 3 ranked Texas A&M coming up, Kelly’s future at LSU could depend on how the Tigers finish the season.