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Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly went 318–111–2 on the field as a head coach, 1991–2025, at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and LSU; 297–110–2 officially, after the NCAA vacated 21 wins and one loss (2012 and 2013). Share
13 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1991–2003 at Grand Valley State. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 297–110–2 official; 318–111–2 on the field
- Seasons
- 35
- Schools
- 5
- Final AP top 10
- 2 seasons
- Born
- Oct 25, 1961
- Alma mater
- Assumption 1983
- Best season
- 2020 10–2, No. 5
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Grand Valley State * | 9–3 | T–2nd | NCAA Division II First Round L | 9 | |
| 1992 | Grand Valley State * | 8–3 | T–1st | |||
| 1993 | Grand Valley State * | 6–3–2 | 3rd | |||
| 1994 | Grand Valley State * | 8–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division II First Round L | 18 | |
| 1995 | Grand Valley State * | 8–3 | 2nd | |||
| 1996 | Grand Valley State * | 8–3 | 2nd | |||
| 1997 | Grand Valley State * | 9–2 | T–1st | |||
| 1998 | Grand Valley State * | 9–3 | 1st | NCAA Division II First Round L | 14 | |
| 1999 | Grand Valley State * | 5–5 | 7th | |||
| 2000 | Grand Valley State * | 7–4 | 3rd | |||
| 2001 | Grand Valley State * | 13–1 | 1st | NCAA Division II Championship L | 2 | |
| 2002 | Grand Valley State * | 14–0 | 1st | NCAA Division II Championship W | 1 | |
| 2003 | Grand Valley State * | 14–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division II Championship W | 1 | |
| 2004 | Central Michigan | 4–7 | 5th (West) | |||
| 2005 | Central Michigan | 6–5 | 4th (West) | |||
| 2006 | Central Michigan | 9–4 | 1st (West) | Motor City (not coached) | ||
| 2006 | Cincinnati bowl game | 1–0 | International Bowl W | |||
| 2007 | Cincinnati | 10–3 | 3rd | PapaJohns.com Bowl W | 17 | |
| 2008 | Cincinnati | 11–3 | 1st | Orange Bowl L | 17 | |
| 2009 | Cincinnati | 12–0 | 1st | Sugar (not coached) | ||
| 2010 | Notre Dame | 8–5 | Sun Bowl W | |||
| 2011 | Notre Dame | 8–5 | Champs Sports Bowl L | |||
| 2012 | Notre Dame | 12–1 (0–0 official) | BCS NCG L (vacated) | 4 | ||
| 2013 | Notre Dame | 9–4 (0–4 official) | Pinstripe W (vacated) | 20 | ||
| 2014 | Notre Dame | 8–5 | Music City Bowl W | |||
| 2015 | Notre Dame | 10–3 | Fiesta Bowl L | 11 | ||
| 2016 | Notre Dame | 4–8 | ||||
| 2017 | Notre Dame | 10–3 | Citrus Bowl W | 11 | ||
| 2018 | Notre Dame | 12–1 | Cotton Bowl, CFP Semifinal L | 5 | ||
| 2019 | Notre Dame | 11–2 | Camping World Bowl W | 12 | ||
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 10–2 | 1st | Rose Bowl, CFP Semifinal L | 5 | |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 11–1 | Fiesta (not coached) | |||
| 2022 | LSU | 10–4 | T–1st (Western) | Citrus Bowl W | 16 | |
| 2023 | LSU | 10–3 | T–2nd (Western) | ReliaQuest Bowl W | 12 | |
| 2024 | LSU | 9–4 | T–4th | Texas Bowl W | ||
| 2025 | LSU coached eight of 13 games | 5–3 |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Jayden Daniels
Manti Te’o
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Jaylon Smith
Tyler Eifert
Will Campbell
Kevin Huber
Ronnie Stanley
Quenton Nelson
Malik Nabers
Mike McGlinchey
Kyle Hamilton
- Mansoor DelaneConsensus All‑American, 2025
- Julian LoveConsensus All‑American, 2018
- Liam EichenbergConsensus All‑American, 2020
- Aaron BanksConsensus All‑American, 2020
- Will FullerNo. 21 pick, 2016
Joe StaleyNo. 28 pick, 2007
6 more
Zack Martin (No. 16 pick, 2014); Michael Floyd (No. 13 pick, 2012); Jerry Tillery (No. 28 pick, 2019); Brian Thomas Jr. (No. 23 pick, 2024); Harrison Smith (No. 29 pick, 2012); Drue Tranquill (2018 Wuerffel Trophy).
18 of the 24 players from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick, the best of each school he coached among them. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 73 | 36–37 | 49% |
| Against top-10 teams | 27 | 8–19 | 30% |
| Against rivals | 111 | 78–33 | 70% |
| Conference games | 83 | 60–23 | 72% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 16 | 10–6 | 63% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 105 | 68–37 | 65% |
| At home | 135 | 111–24 | 82% |
| On the road | 103 | 64–39 | 62% |
| At neutral sites | 38 | 25–13 | 66% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 201 | 167–34 | 83% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 75 | 33–42 | 44% |
His own 276 games on file, 2004–2025, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Niumatalolo 2010–2021 | 9–2 | Navy | 11 | |
| David Shaw 2011–2021 | 5–5 | Stanford | 10 | |
| Brady Hoke 2004–2014 | 5–2 | Ball State, Michigan | 7 | |
| Lane Kiffin 2010–2025 | 4–3 | USC, Ole Miss | 7 | |
| Mark Dantonio 2010–2017 | 4–2 | Michigan State | 6 | |
| Clay Helton 2015–2019 | 4–1 | USC | 5 | |
| Dabo Swinney 2015–2025 | 2–3 | Clemson | 5 | |
| Bronco Mendenhall 2012–2021 | 4–0 | BYU, Virginia | 4 | |
| Bill Cubit 2005–2010 | 3–1 | Western Michigan | 4 | |
| Dave Wannstedt 2007–2010 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh | 4 |
Brian Kelly’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| USCseries | 12 | 8–4 |
| Navyseries | 11 | 9–2 |
| Stanfordseries | 11 | 5–6 |
| Pittsburghseries | 10 | 8–2 |
| Boston Collegeseries | 8 | 7–1 |
| Michiganseries | 8 | 3–5 |
| Syracuseseries | 7 | 7–0 |
| Purdueseries | 7 | 7–0 |
National coaching awards
The awards- 2018 Notre Dame: Bobby Dodd Award
- 2012 Notre Dame: Eddie Robinson and Walter Camp Coach
How he was hired
- Hired by LSU for the 2022 season from Notre Dame, where he was head coach.
Power-conference head-coaching hires since 2010, with each coach’s previous job and ties to the school as collected by hand from Wikipedia: Hiring facts: M. Schuckers, cfb_coach_analytics.
Also a player: Brian Kelly’s playing career.
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–86 | Assumption | Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| 1987–88 | Grand Valley State | Graduate assistant and defensive backs coach | |
| 1989–90 | Grand Valley State | Defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator | |
| 1991–2003 | Grand Valley State | Head coach | |
| 2004–06 | Central Michigan | Head coach | |
| 2006–09 | Cincinnati | Head coach | |
| 2010–21 | Notre Dame | Head coach | |
| 2022–25 | LSU | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Tom BeckGrand Valley State
Assistants who became head coaches
- Brian VanGorderWayne State (MI), Georgia Southern
- Jeff QuinnCentral Michigan, Cincinnati, Buffalo
- Dennis FitzgeraldKent State
- Chuck MartinGrand Valley State, Miami (OH)
- Butch JonesCentral Michigan, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Arkansas State
- Bob DiacoUConn
- Charley MolnarMassachusetts
- Don TreadwellMichigan State, Miami (OH), Arkansas–Pine Bluff
- Harlon BarnettMichigan State
- Pat NarduzziPittsburgh
- Jesse MinterMichigan, Baltimore Ravens
- Kerry CoombsCincinnati
- and 13 more
Worked under (1)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Beck | Grand Valley State | 1987–90 | 1987–88: graduate assistant and defensive backs coach; 1989–90: defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (25)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian VanGorder | Grand Valley State, 1991: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Notre Dame, 2014: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach; 2015–16: defensive coordinator | Wayne State (MI), Georgia Southern | |
| Jeff Quinn | Grand Valley State, 1991–2003: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; Central Michigan, 2004–06: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; Cincinnati, 2006–09: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach; Notre Dame, 2015: offensive analyst; 2016–17: assistant strength and conditioning coach; 2018–21: offensive line coach | Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Buffalo | |
| Dennis Fitzgerald | Grand Valley State, 1994–96: assistant coach | Kent State | |
| Chuck Martin | Grand Valley State, 2000–02: defensive backs and outside linebackers coach; 2003: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; Notre Dame, 2010: defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator; 2011: safeties coach and recruiting coordinator; 2012–13: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Grand Valley State, Miami (OH) | |
| Butch Jones | Central Michigan, 2004: running backs coach | Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Arkansas State | |
| Bob Diaco | Central Michigan, 2005: co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Cincinnati, 2009: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach; Notre Dame, 2010–11: defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach; 2012–13: assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; LSU, 2023–24: special teams and outside linebackers coach | UConn | |
| Charley Molnar | Central Michigan, 2006: passing game coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach; Cincinnati, 2007–09: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach; Notre Dame, 2010–11: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Massachusetts | |
| Don Treadwell | Cincinnati, 2006: offensive coordinator | Michigan State, Miami (OH), Arkansas–Pine Bluff | |
| Harlon Barnett | Cincinnati, 2006: defensive backs coach | Michigan State | |
| Pat Narduzzi | Cincinnati, 2006: defensive coordinator | Pittsburgh | |
| Jesse Minter | Cincinnati, 2007–08: graduate assistant | Michigan, Baltimore Ravens | |
| Kerry Coombs | Cincinnati, 2007–08: defensive backs coach; 2009: assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach | Cincinnati | |
| Ed Warinner | Notre Dame, 2010: offensive line coach; 2011: offensive line coach and running game coordinator | Avila | |
| Mike Sanford Jr. | Notre Dame, 2015–16: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Western Kentucky, Colorado | |
| Brian Polian | Notre Dame, 2017–20: special teams coach and recruiting coordinator; 2021: special teams coach and assistant head coach; LSU, 2022: special teams coach and recruiting coordinator | Nevada, John Carroll | |
| Clark Lea | Notre Dame, 2017: linebackers coach; 2018–20: defensive coordinator | Vanderbilt | |
| Mike Elko | Notre Dame, 2017: defensive coordinator | Duke, Texas A&M | |
| Lance Taylor | Notre Dame, 2019–20: running backs coach; 2021: running backs coach and running game coordinator | Western Michigan | |
| Marcus Freeman | Notre Dame, 2021: defensive coordinator | Notre Dame | |
| Brad Davis | LSU, 2022–25: offensive line coach | LSU | |
| Frank Wilson | LSU, 2022–25: assistant head coach and running backs coach | UTSA, LSU, McNeese | |
| Trent Miles | LSU, 2022–23: senior offensive analyst | Georgia State, Indiana State | |
| Slade Nagle | LSU, 2024: special teams and tight ends coach | Tulane | |
| Todd Fitch | LSU, 2024: offensive assistant | Vanderbilt | |
| Lance Guidry | LSU, 2025: defensive assistant | Miami (OH), Western Kentucky, McNeese |
Other assistants under him (28)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| John Jancek | Grand Valley State, 1991: graduate assistant; 1999–2002: defensive coordinator; Central Michigan, 2004: defensive line coach; LSU, 2022: analyst; 2023: special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach | |
| Mike Denbrock | Grand Valley State, 1992–95: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach; 1996–98: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach; Notre Dame, 2010–11: tight ends coach; 2012–13: wide receivers coach; 2014: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2015–16: assistant head coach and wide receivers coach; LSU, 2022–23: offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| Willie Martinez | Grand Valley State, 1992–93: defensive coordinator and secondary coach | |
| Dan Roushar | Cincinnati, 2006: offensive line coach | |
| Joe Tresey | Central Michigan, 2006: defensive coordinator; Cincinnati, 2007–08: defensive coordinator | |
| Mike Tressel | Cincinnati, 2006: linebackers and special teams coach | |
| Ted Gill | Cincinnati, 2006: defensive line coach | |
| William Inge | Cincinnati, 2008–09: linebackers coach | |
| Kerry Cooks | Notre Dame, 2010–11: cornerbacks coach; 2012–14: co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach; 2020–21: defensive assistant; LSU, 2022–23: safeties coach | |
| Harry Hiestand | Notre Dame, 2012–17: offensive line coach | |
| Keenan Bailey | Notre Dame, 2014–15: recruiting analyst | |
| Ryan Mahaffey | Notre Dame, 2014–15: graduate assistant | |
| Maurice Crum Jr. | Notre Dame, 2015: graduate assistant | |
| Todd Lyght | Notre Dame, 2015–19: defensive backs coach | |
| Greg Hudson | Notre Dame, 2016: defensive coordinator | |
| Jeff Burris | Notre Dame, 2016: defensive analyst | |
| Chip Long | Notre Dame, 2017–19: offensive coordinator and tight ends coach | |
| Tyler Santucci | Notre Dame, 2017: defensive analyst | |
| John McNulty | Notre Dame, 2020–21: tight ends coach | |
| Tommy Rees | Notre Dame, 2020–21: offensive coordinator | |
| Chuck Bullough | LSU, 2022–25: senior defensive analyst | |
| Cortez Hankton | LSU, 2022–23: pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2024–25: co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach | |
| Jamar Cain | LSU, 2022: defensive line coach | |
| Joe Sloan | LSU, 2022–23: quarterbacks coach; 2024–25: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | |
| Matt House | LSU, 2022–23: defensive coordinator and linebackers coach | |
| Pete Jenkins | LSU, 2023: defensive line coach | |
| Blake Baker | LSU, 2024–25: defensive coordinator | |
| Alex Atkins | LSU, 2025: interim offensive coordinator, running game coordinator and tight ends coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Pay
| Year | School | Job | Contract pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Cincinnati | head coachbonuses up to $400,000 | $1,362,500 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2008 | Cincinnati | head coach | $1,200,000 USA Today via Leeds | |
| 2007 | Cincinnati | head coachbonuses up to $380,000 | $835,000 USA Today via Leeds |
The same USA Today database for 2006–16, from Michael Leeds’ replication data on Harvard Dataverse (CC0): the season’s contract pay.
Pay of public employees in their public job only: head coaches, and assistants in the seasons our records name them a coordinator, at public universities.
How he coached
Kelly’s teams went for it on 18% of fourth downs and on 34% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 51% of plays and took 25.0 seconds a play, 2004–2024.
| Season | School | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 2 g | Central Michigan | 3 of 18 17% | 20% | 53% | 17.5 | −0.19 | |
| 2005 10 g | Central Michigan | 21 of 106 20% | 28% | 53% | 22.3 | −0.07 | |
| 2006 13 g | Central Michigan | 14 of 92 15% | 24% | 53% | 25.6 | 0.00 | |
| 2007 13 g | Cincinnati | 22 of 97 23% | 38% | 52% | 23.3 | −0.01 | |
| 2008 14 g | Cincinnati | 21 of 104 20% | 33% | 54% | 26.2 | −0.08 | |
| 2009 13 g | Cincinnati | 13 of 82 16% | 34% | 58% | 24.1 | +0.18 | |
| 2010 13 g | Notre Dame | 12 of 99 12% | 22% | 56% | 22.4 | −0.08 | |
| 2011 13 g | Notre Dame | 6 of 78 8% | 11% | 54% | 25.6 | 0.00 | |
| 2012 13 g | Notre Dame | 6 of 89 7% | 21% | 45% | 27.7 | +0.05 | |
| 2013 13 g | Notre Dame | 13 of 92 14% | 26% | 50% | 25.6 | +0.05 | |
| 2014 13 g | Notre Dame | 16 of 90 18% | 29% | 52% | 24.1 | +0.07 | |
| 2015 13 g | Notre Dame | 8 of 81 10% | 22% | 48% | 26.2 | +0.15 | |
| 2016 12 g | Notre Dame | 20 of 92 22% | 40% | 51% | 24.8 | +0.08 | |
| 2017 13 g | Notre Dame | 18 of 100 18% | 38% | 42% | 23.1 | +0.10 | |
| 2018 13 g | Notre Dame | 25 of 101 25% | 47% | 47% | 23.3 | +0.08 | |
| 2019 13 g | Notre Dame | 25 of 106 24% | 34% | 49% | 24.8 | +0.12 | |
| 2020 12 g | Notre Dame | 17 of 80 21% | 32% | 45% | 27.8 | +0.13 | |
| 2021 13 g | Notre Dame | 16 of 96 17% | 45% | 54% | 25.4 | +0.09 | |
| 2022 14 g | LSU | 22 of 84 26% | 49% | 53% | 25.7 | +0.16 | |
| 2023 13 g | LSU | 17 of 62 27% | 48% | 52% | 25.3 | +0.43 | |
| 2024 13 g | LSU | 24 of 84 29% | 59% | 61% | 26.4 | +0.11 | |
| All 259 g | 339 of 1833 18% | 34% | 51% | 25.0 | +0.08 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.