After spending over $20 million this offseason only to lose against Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, the LSU Board of Directors had an epiphany that Brian Kelly isn’t the guy to lead the Tigers back to their past glory. In fact, just after cutting ties and parting ways with him, the entire LSU nation, including several former Tigers, came together and iced Brian Kelly for having what many called a “lack of human” mentality. However, amid the criticism, one of the parents of late LSU player Kyren Lacy came forward to defend Kelly, offering a contrasting perspective just hours after the other parent had voiced public disappointment with the former coach.

We all know Brian Kelly is one of the most polarizing coaches in college football. Some even call him a “culture killer.” But none of that seemed to matter as long as he was winning. Once the wins dried up and he got fired, though, people started speaking up. Speculation concerning his cold and detached behavior started swirling. Word on the street is that Kelly had a habit of not supporting his players when tragedy struck. And one of the most serious examples of that involves the late Kyren Lacy’s story, which has become quite confusing to follow.

On October 27th, LSU insider Lonn Phillips Sullivan took to X and shared a message from Kyren Lacy’s mother, Kandace Faye, defending Brian Kelly: “IMPORTANT: FROM Kyren Lacy’s Mother Kandace, clarifying the truth about Brian Kelly’s support after Kyren’s passing, refuting Kenny Lacy’s comments earlier.” According to Kyren’s mom, Brian Kelly personally reached out to the family several times to offer comfort and support, and also spoke at Kyren’s funeral. She expressed her gratitude to Kelly for being there during their hardest moment.

However, Kyren’s father, Kenny Lacy, shared a very different account. Kenny went off on Brian Kelly after the coach’s firing and Frank Wilson’s promotion, posting a scathing message on Facebook that read: “I didn’t even get a call or text from that dude in the back [Brian Kelly]. Must be nice to get paid millions to get your walking papers…let’s get it, Coach Frank.”

He also gave props to the new interim head coach, Frank Wilson, for genuinely showing up: “This dude [Frank Wilson] actually came to sit down with our family and showed us some real genuine love when my son died, along with a couple other coaches.” The two accounts tell very different stories, highlighting how grief, memory, and personal experience can shape perception in powerful ways. At the end of the day, these are unverified personal perspectives that have taken on a life of their own online. It’s important not to draw firm conclusions based on incomplete or conflicting narratives.

Former LSU players are throwing haymakers at Brian Kelly

After the firing news, only a handful of people might have mourned, while the majority, including some of his former players, celebrated and called for a cultural change.

Jacob Hester, who played for LSU during their 2007 national championship run under coach Les Miles, was one of the first former players to speak up after Brian Kelly’s firing. Hester, a team captain back in his playing days, said LSU needs to get back to its roots, being “mean, nasty, and tough.” He believes that kind of old-school attitude is what made LSU so special and exactly what’s missing in the current program.

Then, former LSU star and current New York Giants receiver Malik Nabers also reacted. He posted a short video on his Instagram story that seemed to support Kelly’s firing. Nabers, who played under Kelly for two years, didn’t use words but made it pretty obvious that he wasn’t seeing eye to eye with Brian Kelly. Truth be told, you can’t blame him. Brian Kelly has to answer for absolutely achieving nothing with a stacked 2023 LSU offense.

Another former LSU defensive back, Matthew Langlois, posted on social media that Kelly was one of “the worst humans I’ve been around”. He accused Kelly of completely changing his attitude toward him after an injury forced him into medical retirement, claiming the coach acted like he was “only in it for the money”. But regardless of which side you believe, the situation only adds to the ongoing criticism surrounding Brian Kelly’s behavior off the field.