LSU third-year head coach Brian Kelly was clear on Monday: his team fell short in 2023 because its defense was nowhere near good enough.
In fact, for the second year in a row under Kelly, LSU won 10 games in 2023 but fell short of expectations due to the Tigers’ poor defense preventing them from reaching the playoffs and playing for a championship.
Kelly acknowledged the disappointment and failure of not meeting the high standards set by the program on an interview on the SEC Network minutes before taking the stage to open SEC Media Days in Dallas.
Kelly pointed out that he let go of his entire defensive staff, an action, he said, that he recognized the need for improvement in that area.
He emphasized that 10-win seasons are difficult to achieve, but they are not good enough for LSU. The standard at LSU is the college football playoffs and competing for championships.
“We expect to win every game,” Kelly said.
The expectation is for LSU to take a step forward on defense under new defensive coordinator Blake Baker and make the College Football Playoffs this season, he said.
“When we’re measuring success at LSU, and obviously top programs, being in the playoffs, playing for championships is the measuring stick, and we fell short of that. Whatever word you want to use, disappointment, failure, it all comes together in the same fashion.”
Kelly acknowledged that LSU falling short of expectations was a disappointment and a failure.
”I let go of my entire defensive staff, and those were good coaches, and they were good people, and they’ve been successful, so I must have seen that as a need to get better.”
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