Paul Finebaum made himself very clear when it comes to what football coaches are on the hot seat this season, and one of them is LSU coach Brian Kelly.
Kelly, whose team has yet to make the College Football Playoff, may be in deep trouble if they don’t make the playoffs this year, according to Finebaum.
“I’m a fan of Coach Kelly, but that really doesn’t make any difference,” Finebaum said on The Paul Finebaum Show. “He’s at the point in his career where he needs a great season, and he needs to get to the playoffs. His first five games, in my mind, are pretty treacherous. There are three possibilities he could lose.”
There is reason for optimism in Baton Rouge. They have a potential No. 1 draft pick in Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback, who helped carry this team last year.
But there are still questions at running back and on the defense, not to mention a brutal schedule, and Finebaum warns, LSU fans aren’t the most patient.
“They’re not patient and a loss to Clemson, and we talk about that game Saturday night against Florida, and you’ll be able to feel the pressure and tenseness in that stadium.”
LSU alum Marcus Spears made a similar statement a few weeks ago about LSU fans not being patient with Kelly and made it clear where he stood on the subject.
"If you don't win big, if you're Brian Kelly, this fan base is done. And I'm just telling you, the wins and the success and all of the things, going to the SEC championship, your first year was great, but people still didn't feel like that was a big-time accomplishment based on how it happened," Spears said.
Whether or not LSU has a good season may all depend on whether they can get past their opening night game against ACC champ Clemson, which is also considered a national championship contender, and that won’t be an easy task.