“We would talk and laugh about it”: LSU’s Brian Kelly on discussing his move from Notre Dame with USC’s Lincoln Riley who came from Oklahoma

When Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley made their departures from Notre Dame and Oklahoma in November 2021, the college football world was stunned. Almost three years later, these two coaching giants found themselves leading powerhouse programs in the Modelo Vegas Kickoff Classic.

LSU’s Kelly and USC’s Riley may not have had much time to catch up, but when they do, one topic is bound to come up — their unexpected moves. Kelly, who left Notre Dame for LSU, shared with ESPN:

"We get like 20 seconds to talk to each other as we're passing through hallways... but certainly if we did have a chance, it would probably be the first thing that we would talk about, and laugh about it now. We wouldn't have laughed about it then."

As both coaches prepare for their third seasons with their respective teams, the similarities between USC and LSU are hard to ignore.

Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley may be two sides of the same coin

The two football coaches might be more alike than they’d care to admit. As both Kelly and Riley enter their third seasons in charge of LSU and USC, the similarities between these two are striking.

Both jumped ship from prestigious programs — Kelly from Notre Dame and Riley from Oklahoma — and have found moderate success, including division titles. However, they are both still searching for that elusive College Football Playoff appearance.

"There's a lot of parallels between the two groups," Riley said at Big Ten media days.

Indeed, both coaches have mentored recent Heisman Trophy winners — USC’s Caleb Williams in 2022 and LSU’s Jayden Daniels in 2023. Now, they’re turning to their new quarterbacks, Miller Moss for USC and Garrett Nussmeier for LSU, who have patiently waited for their moment to shine.

However, perhaps, the most striking similarity lies in their approach to rebuilding their defenses. Both programs have made hefty investments in top-tier defensive coaching talent. Kelly said:

“USC has hired some of the best coaches in the country on defense, and it comes at a premium, and we've done the same here at LSU. You're trying to attract the best in the marketplace. So both have gone all in.”

Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley have pushed all their chips to the center of the table, betting big on their staffs to deliver the results their fanbases crave.