Could former LSU coach Brian Kelly finally end up at Michigan State all these years later? One popular college football podcast thinks its in play.
LSU pulled the trigger on Saturday night and announced the firing of Kelly, ending his four-year stint with the Tigers. Kelly is set to receive a $50-plus million buyout thanks to the move and may elect to never coach another down again. But, if he does want to get another gig elsewhere, Michigan State was considered a strong candidate, according to the hosts of the Cover 3 Podcast.
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During an emergency episode following the firing of Kelly at LSU, the Cover 3 crew discussed what could be next for Kelly and two teams pop up as possible landing spots: Michigan State and Wisconsin. The reasoning was that both the Spartans and Badgers could be in the market for a new coach (neither have fired their current coaches at the time of this post), and both are in the footprint of where Kelly has experienced plenty of success. Prior to coaching at LSU, Kelly was the head coach at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame — so winning in the midwest is something he’s done across multiple programs and levels.
You can hear the discussion on Kelly to Michigan State in the video below — mentioned at the 18-minute mark of episode in video.
Years ago, Kelly was considered one of the top candidates for the Michigan State head coaching job after the Spartans fired John L. Smith in 2006. However, the Spartans went with Mark Dantonio — and, we all know how that turned out. But with Kelly back on the market, it seems like he could once again be in the mix for the Michigan State job should he be interested in that role and, of course, if it becomes open.
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This will be something we need to monitor over the next few weeks and months should Michigan State move on from Jonathan Smith. That is still not a certainty, but definitely something we are monitoring closely at Spartans Wire.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Popular college football podcast connects Brian Kelly to MSU
