John and Susie Q. Football Fan can’t stomach Brian Kelly.
Why, though? The LSU head coach, now firmly entrenched in Baton Rouge after a controversial move from Notre Dame, stirs up a particular brand of animosity that many college football fans seem to have a hard time shaking. It’s not just a passing dislike—it’s a palpable, visceral reaction to his persona. But why? What about Kelly makes him so polarizing?
In an interview a couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to ask Kelly directly why he believes so many college football fans harbor such strong, negative feelings toward him. He offered a theory that was understandable but not entirely satisfying.
“I coached 12 years at Notre Dame, and few folks harbor neutral feelings about the Irish. You either love them or hate them,” Kelly explained. “By extension, that applies to the coach.”
It’s an interesting point. Notre Dame is one of the most storied and divisive programs in college football. Whether you grew up in the Midwest, where the Fighting Irish are celebrated like royalty, or in the heart of SEC country, where fans have no love for anyone outside their conference, the Irish represent something big, something historic. So, if you spend over a decade coaching there, it makes sense that the coach would either be revered or despised, not simply tolerated.
However, this theory doesn’t fully explain the level of animosity toward Kelly, especially given that his successor, Marcus Freeman, appears to be universally beloved. Freeman, a charismatic and polished leader, could easily be mistaken for someone auditioning to play James Bond in his spare time. He’s charming, relatable, and he’s delivered on the field by leading Notre Dame to significant victories, including a playoff appearance. Freeman has a Q-score—the measurement of a celebrity’s likability—far higher than Kelly’s, and he’s only just getting started in his coaching career.
So, what makes Kelly so different from Freeman in the eyes of the public?
To dig deeper, you need to consider Kelly’s demeanor on the sideline. While Freeman exudes a kind of affable charisma, Kelly has often been seen as hot-headed and temperamental. His sideline antics—clapping wildly, shouting instructions, occasionally appearing to lose control—have made for some memorable viral moments. These outbursts, especially in high-stress situations, have fueled a negative perception of him. He’s frequently cast as the epitome of the angry, yelling coach, a man who will shout at players one minute and glare at officials the next. Such antics have made it all too easy for the internet to jump on the bandwagon of ridicule.
In fact, Kelly’s sideline behavior has provided a goldmine for meme creators. Whether it’s an image of his furrowed brow, his face flushed with anger, or his hands thrown up in frustration, these moments have been shared and reshared endlessly on social media platforms. While other coaches might have their own viral moments—some funny, others inspiring—Kelly’s memes lean heavily into the negative side of his personality, feeding the narrative of him as an abrasive, unlikable figure.
But it’s not just the sideline demeanor. Kelly’s move from Notre Dame to LSU, in particular, left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans. To many, his departure felt like a betrayal. He left a program with deep roots and storied history, a program he had helped build into national title contenders. His abrupt decision to leave Notre Dame for LSU after 12 years—and the way he handled the move—left a bad impression.
While coaches leave for new opportunities all the time, Kelly’s exit was far from a graceful one. His departure didn’t come after a championship, nor did it come at a moment of mutual respect between him and the Notre Dame administration. Instead, his sudden exit felt hasty, even disrespectful, and it created a narrative of him as a coach more interested in the allure of the SEC than in the loyalty to the program that had built his career.
It’s not hard to see why some fans in Notre Dame’s camp would view Kelly’s decision as a betrayal, or at least as disloyalty. To leave after all those years, especially for a competitor in a completely different conference, only reinforced his image as a coach who values career advancement over sentimentality. In a sport where loyalty to the university is often praised, Kelly’s exit seemed to buck that tradition, and many fans viewed him as someone who, in the end, would always be looking out for his own best interests, even if it meant leaving behind a fan base that adored him.
Additionally, Kelly is a native of Boston—a city far removed from the SEC’s heartland. While the SEC is known for its college football culture steeped in Southern tradition and its emphasis on community and folksiness, Kelly’s background couldn’t be more different. He’s an outsider in a region where college football is a religion, and his Boston roots clash with the personalities of legendary SEC coaches like Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, or even Gus Malzahn.
Kelly simply doesn’t have that natural charm that many of his SEC peers exude. He doesn’t fit into the mold of a Bobby Bowden, whose Southern warmth made him beloved even by fans of rival teams, or a Mack Brown, whose down-home personality endeared him to everyone. Kelly’s personality is sharper, more New England, and less ingrained in the cultural fabric of the SEC. That difference doesn’t help him in a conference where people like to feel like their coach “gets it” on a personal level. Kelly’s aloofness and cool demeanor, contrasted with the emotional attachment of many other Southern coaches, make him an even easier target for critics.
Moreover, his record in the SEC, while solid, hasn’t fully aligned with the expectations of LSU fans. As one of the most successful programs in the country, LSU demands excellence, and anything less than a national championship is viewed as underachievement. While Kelly has shown success in Baton Rouge, it’s hard to shake the perception that he hasn’t quite lived up to the immense pressure of coaching in one of the most high-profile college football programs in the nation. When the expectations are so high, every misstep—whether it’s on the field or off—tends to be amplified, and Kelly’s every move is scrutinized by a fan base eager for instant success.
Ultimately, it’s a combination of factors that have led to Kelly becoming one of the most polarizing figures in college football today. Whether it’s his sideline demeanor, his abrupt departure from Notre Dame, or simply the fact that he’s an outsider trying to navigate the unique culture of the SEC, Kelly doesn’t fit neatly into the mold that many fans expect from their college football coaches. As a result, he’s a lightning rod for criticism and a figure that fans either love to hate or find difficult to warm to.
For LSU fans, however, all of this may ultimately be forgiven if Kelly can bring home a championship. College football is a results-driven business, and if Kelly can prove his worth on the field, the controversies that have followed him may fade into the background. But for now, the tension between Kelly and the general college football fan base remains a fascinating, ongoing saga—one that will likely continue as long as he’s roaming the sidelines in Baton Rouge.
