Brian Kelly is yet another star name in the coaching carousel after his exit from LSU. A lot of places are freeing up their seats, which makes it a wide market for the former Tigers head coach. However, he can shake things up in college football by going for a surprise program. It’s in the SEC but is a much lower-risk job compared to LSU.

Kelly’s respectable record as a head coach in college football has linked him to many places. Elite programs are free, and so are struggling ones. In this wide range of options, Kelly has also been linked to the interesting position at Arkansas. Wunderfan predicted the ex-LSU coach to move to Fayetteville, in its list of future coach hirings. It’s an odd fit, but who knows, Kelly might turn things around at Arkansas.

Kelly is emerging as a favorite to replace Sam Pittman. BetOnline showed Kelly with the 4-best odds to land the job, at +700. But there are both pros and cons to this list. Kelly is not a bad coach; he can win. 297-109-2 is a good enough record to emerge as a top candidate. He’s won titles in his career and can bring some really good results for a program. But he has to strike that harmony. Kelly seemed like a great pick at LSU after Ed Orgeron, better, even. But he just couldn’t improve the standards at Baton Rouge.

Arkansas is in a worse shape than LSU. Kelly’s experience will provide a great boost to the Razorbacks and will have an impact on recruiting as well. However, Kelly will remain in the SEC. He was great as a head coach outside of the conference. But the high-stakes competition here seemed to get the better of Kelly. At Fayetteville, he’ll have to be invested for a long time so that the Razorbacks can at least pack a punch in the league.

“I would hire Brian Kelly at Arkansas,” David Pollack said on See Ball Get Ball. He will have to beat other candidates, of course, chief among them being Bobby Petrino. The former HC has a big advantage here because of his familiarity with the role and program. But his test run as interim HC is turning out to be a roadblock, as the Razorbacks are 0-4 under him.

But Brian Kelly is a big name in college football, and he will come with a tough price. Arkansas paid $5 million to send Sam Pittman packing, but with the ex-LSU coach, that number will be through the roof. It’s also why he and LSU are sparring off in a messy legal drama, barely a month since his exit from the program. The Tigers turned quite some heads with their last-ditch move to try and lessen the financial loss.

Brian Kelly and LSU engage in ugly legal fight

On November 5, Kelly’s lawyers had threatened LSU with legal action if they didn’t confirm their intentions of following through with the buyout. As of now, it stands at $54 million and is to be paid monthly until 2031. Instead, LSU pulled a move so bizarre that it has the whole sport in shock. The Tigers administration now claims in a lawsuit that Kelly was not “formally terminated.” And, they are now shifting their stance on his firing, saying that they have cause.

A for-cause termination will mean that Kelly would be owed a lesser amount than the $54 million figure. However, this surprise act has many thinking that this is just a desperate attempt from LSU to not part with that money. LSU claims that Scott Woodward didn’t have the authority to fire Kelly or negotiate with him. That’s essentially the loophole the program is using to tie the coach to the program, which also makes it possible for said ‘cause’ to be attached to him.

The Tigers had previously tried to negotiate with Kelly, offering him a smaller paycheck. He refused both and is also refusing these new claims. Kelly might not be an active coach anymore, but people are seated to watch more of this drama unfold. But will this impact the future of his career? We will have to wait and watch.