Rex Ryan knew Brian Kelly was doomed at LSU from his very first appearance

Rex Ryan saw this disaster coming from the start.

The former Jets and Bills head coach appeared on ESPN’s Get Up on Monday, hours after LSU fired Brian Kelly, and reminded everyone he’d called the hire a failure before Kelly ever coached a game in Baton Rouge.

“The very first time we saw Brian Kelly speak publicly was at that basketball game when he brought in — I mean, historically bad,” Ryan said, via On3 Sports. “To me, I thought he was done from that point. I thought everybody in that LSU community was like, ‘This is a phony, man. Get him out of here.’ I’m like, this is the worst hire in history. Talk about a guy that doesn’t fit.”

Ryan’s, of course, referring to December 2021, when Kelly showed up courtside at an LSU basketball game three days into the job and said “family” with a Southern accent he definitely didn’t have at Notre Dame. The clip went viral instantly. Florida State’s offensive line trolled Kelly about it after beating LSU the following season. Kelly eventually tried to defend it by claiming that people from Boston don’t have strong accents, which didn’t exactly help his case.

But Ryan’s issue wasn’t just about the accent. It was what faking one said about Kelly’s entire approach to the LSU job.

“You can get a guy from anywhere, but be yourself,” Ryan said. “Come back and say, ‘Look, I gotta admit, I never had a crawfish in my life. Jambalaya? What the hell is that?’ You’d be better off that way, being honest, than trying to say, ‘Hey, I’m part of you guys. I’m in there.’ No, you’re not. You’re not an alligator hunter. What the hell are you doing?”

Josh Pate, who joined Ryan on Get Up, took an even bigger dig at Kelly’s approach when he accused the 64-year-old of essentially checking out on the parts of the job that actually matter in modern college football.

“When it comes to the critical infrastructure of a college football program — recruiting, portaling, talent acquisition, staffing decisions — a lot of that Brian Kelly was on a beach in Florida for,” Pate said.

The numbers support that. LSU’s 2025 recruiting class ranked No. 7 nationally before five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood decommitted and eventually signed with Michigan. This year’s class sits at No. 11.

On the field, it wasn’t much better. LSU’s offense ranked 124th nationally in rushing yards per game and couldn’t consistently move the ball all season

Kelly also kept acting like he didn’t want to deal with any criticism. He snapped at a reporter earlier this season for asking a reasonable question about the offense after a win over Florida, calling it “ridiculous” and “stupid.” He told people to “keep receipts” when they doubted LSU’s chances of winning the National Championship.

Then, the Tigers started 4-0, climbed to No. 3 in the country, and lost three of their last four games.

Saturday’s 49-25 home loss to Texas A&M featured fans chanting “Fire Kelly” throughout Tiger Stadium. Athletic director Scott Woodward made it official Sunday night, firing Kelly with four years and roughly $54 million remaining on his contract.

“How many jobs are there better than LSU in college football? I can count on one hand and don’t even need all five fingers,” Pate said. “You’ve got to be all in if you’ve got that job. Les Miles did it and won a title. Ed Orgeron did it and won a title. Brian Kelly came down there and treated it as the final rung on this personal ladder of his. He never embraced Louisiana. And now, Louisiana is done with him.”

Kelly finished 34-14 at LSU with one SEC Championship Game appearance and a Heisman Trophy winner in Jayden Daniels. At most programs, that’s enough to keep your job. At LSU, where Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron all won National Championships, it wasn’t close.

But what was close was Ryan calling it on day one.