Saturday’s game in Nashville felt like a gut punch LSU wasn’t expecting. Vanderbilt, yes, that Vanderbilt, walked into FirstBank Stadium and absolutely dismantled No. 10 LSU 31-24. Diego Pavia handed Brian Kelly his second SEC loss of the season, putting the Tigers’ playoff hopes on life support. 

The stat that really stings? This was Vanderbilt’s first win over LSU since 1990. This was a 35-year drought that ended spectacularly as the Commodores clinched bowl eligibility and left the Tigers reeling. LSU’s defense, supposedly one of the best units in the country, got tormented on the ground and couldn’t get off the field when it mattered. For Kelly, watching his team fall to 5-2 and 1-2 in the SEC with games against Alabama and Texas A&M still looming, the message is on the wall: win now, or start packing.​ But if the situation goes more north than it already is, who can replace Brian Kelly?

Ed Orgeron 

The name that keeps popping up whenever LSU fans start fantasizing about life after Brian Kelly? Ed Orgeron. And you cannot blame them. Coach O won a national championship in Baton Rouge just six years ago with one of the greatest teams college football has ever seen. He’s made it abundantly clear that he’s not done coaching. “All depends on what the best thing available is, but I’m ready to coach again,” Orgeron told WAFB-TV back in early October. “I left a little bit of meat on the bone. I’m ready to go.” That’s not the kind of quote you drop if you’re content riding off into the sunset. That’s a man who still feels like he’s got something to prove after getting fired following a 6-6 season in 2021.​

Orgeron’s been out of the game for four years now, spending his time consulting with programs and staying connected to the sport he loves. But he’s made it clear that he’s itching to get back on a sideline. And what better place than the school where he cemented his legacy?

Sure, the 2020 and 2021 seasons were rough (5-5 and 6-6), but let’s not forget that Orgeron went 51-20 overall and 31-17 in SEC play during his six-year tenure. He knows the culture, he knows the recruiting grounds, and LSU fans absolutely adore the guy. The question is whether LSU’s administration is willing to admit they made a mistake moving on from him so quickly. And whether bringing him back would be a homecoming or a desperate attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle.​

James Franklin 

James Franklin just became the hottest name on the coaching market after Penn State shocked the college football world by firing him following a 3-3 start. Franklin spent 12 seasons in Happy Valley, compiling a 104-45 record and leading the Nittany Lions to a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance last year before losing to Notre Dame. Now he’s sitting on a $50 million buyout with an offset clause that requires him to seek employment, meaning whatever school hires him could potentially get him at a bargain since Penn State would pay the difference.

For LSU, Franklin represents a proven winner who’s operated successfully in the modern chaos of NIL and the transfer portal. There is one area where Brian Kelly has struggled to keep pace with the elite programs. Franklin’s track record of elevating programs (he did it at Vanderbilt before Penn State). But his inability to manage big-game pressure put him in a similar boat as Kelly.

However, the timing couldn’t be better. If Kelly’s seat gets any hotter after losses to Alabama and A&M, Franklin could be walking into Baton Rouge by December.​

Nick Saban

Look, we all know the rumors. Nick Saban coached at LSU from 2000 to 2004, won a national championship in 2003, and left as a legend before building an even bigger empire at Alabama. So naturally, whenever there’s a coaching vacancy in Baton Rouge, his name gets tossed around like confetti. But Miss Terry Saban just threw a bucket of cold water on that fantasy during ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday. 

When Pat McAfee asked if $50 million would be enough to lure Saban back to the sidelines at Penn State (or anywhere else), Miss Terry had the perfect response: “I have no doubt if Nick wanted to go back to coaching, he could win his eighth national championship. But we’re having too much fun, and we wouldn’t want to take that opportunity away from all of our baby coaches, like Kirby and Lane.” Nick’s reply? “Mrs. Always Right has spoken.” It means they’re happy in retirement, enjoying the College GameDay gig, and not interested in diving back into the grind of recruiting, NIL, and the transfer portal.

But what if, just like Ed Orgeron, Saban also feels he might have left some meat on the bone? Well, it would be a fever dream for LSU fans and a nightmare for Alabama fans. Well, it’s still too early to say if it’s time for any of the applicants to get that contract. But this loss to Vanderbilt does not leave Brian Kelly with a long leash. Fans are predicting a four-loss season, and if it really becomes one, then that’s most probably it for Brian Kelly in Baton Rouge.