Brian Kelly discusses need to rebuild quickly as new head coach

Patience is a virtue, the old saying goes — though no one ever said college football was virtuous. First-year LSU head coach Brian Kelly is as keenly aware of this reality as anybody.

Speaking on the SEC coaches teleconference this week, ahead of Top 10 showdown between Kelly’s No. 10 Tigers and No. 6 Alabama in Baton Rouge, Kelly was asked about the necessity for a quick turnaround when taking a job. Kelly readily admitted that long-term plans that don’t involve early success aren’t en vogue. And yes, the transfer portal is necessary.

“There’s no patience for long-term plans, anymore,” Kelly said. “So, I think everybody goes in it with their eyes wide open that, you know, you’re looking to find immediate results. Now, things that have happened that allow that to come together are seen with transferring, the transfer portal in particular allows you to restock, if you will, in terms of bringing it more mature players. If this was just building with freshmen, the process, could, in fact, take longer. But, there are some accelerants in that sense because of the ability to transfer and the transfer portal.”

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One can’t go wholesale into immediate results, though. Kelly warned against ignoring the process of building up the base of the program: recruiting, talent development, staffing and more.

In short: Long-term plans that eschew current success for the promise of results down the road don’t fly at the highest levels and coaches need to win quickly, but not at the expense of building sustained success.

A tricky needle to thread, certainly, something Kelly is getting paid a pretty penny to do at LSU.

“You still have to be able to create your program from within,” Kelly said. “You still have to get buy in, you still have to be able to create the right standards and the right relationships and the right coaching staff and the right support staff. So there are a lot of moving pieces other than just saying ‘Hey, just rely on the transfer portal and all things will be great.’ But, that’s kind of my take on the move towards accelerating and turning it around quicker.”