It seems like Brian Kelly would be interested in throwing his hat in the ring for the Florida State opening.
The former LSU and Notre Dame head coach said having a job with the Seminoles would be an “honor and a privilege,” especially when considering the “brand” of the storied program.
“Yeah, I mean, look, when you’re talking to an unemployed football coach, every job’s a great job, you know? But Florida State, look, I’ve got a great history with Florida State, great games,” Kelly said on SiriusXM.
“I know what that’s like, the history and tradition of Florida State, playing in that state, and the fan base. “So anytime you have an incredibly brand driven, great tradition and history, there’s a want and desire to be part of somebody that has had that success and, certainly, leading that program, from anyone’s perspective, would be an honor and privilege.”
In the middle of a disappointing 3-5 season, Florida State canned head coach Mike Norvell on Sunday. He’s still owed $50.3 million, ESPN reported.
Kelly, currently a pundit for CBS Sports, is a longtime college football coach, coming to prominence during a 2006-09 run with Cincinnati before 11 years at the helm of Notre Dame. He then jumped ship to the SEC at the end of 2021, taking over LSU. He went 34-14 with the Tigers before he was fired midway through the 2025 season.
After a 13-1 season in 2023 — when the Seminoles were controversially left out of the College Football Playoff after starting QB Jordan Travis got injured — had consecutive losing seasons under Norvell in 2024 and ’25.
The three-time national champion program, despite being in the doldrums, still is a place Kelly feels is an attractive option.
“Well, there’s still brand recognition,” Kelly added. “There’s no doubt about that. I don’t think that’s changed. I mean, certainly that is recognizable to anybody that’s involved in any form of athletics. The factors that we have to deal with today is the Indiana factor. And when you can take Indiana that, if we had this conversation a few years ago, we’d say, ‘Well, they have no brand recognition as it relates to football and they can’t win there.’ But yet they won the national championship. So when people talk relative to, ‘It’s not what it used to be,’ nothing’s what it used to be! Everything has changed.”
Kelly, when mentioned in September as a possible candidate at Rutgers with current coach Greg Schiano on the hot seat, said he was uncomfortable with the discussion.
For now, Florida State will rely on Rick Stockstill as the interim coach.
