Greg McElroy on Brian Kelly backlash: 'I don't really know what there is to be negative about'

Brian Kelly has found himself in a headline or two this offseason ahead of his third year at LSU. Greg McElroy can’t understand why, though, considering all things about the Tigers’ head coach.

McElroy addressed recent criticisms about Kelly from a question during a recent episode of ‘Always College Football’. As for what he has done in two seasons on the field, McElroy sees little to complain about with what he has accomplished so far and could do in this upcoming one.

“I think Brian Kelly is a really good coach. He won a lot of games at Notre Dame when people said it couldn’t be done anymore. He revitalized that program. It became a steady player in the College Football Playoff conversation. Now he takes over at LSU, has won 10 games in consecutive years, has had a Heisman Trophy winner,” McElroy noted. “I don’t really know what there is to be negative about with Brian Kelly. Like, he won 10 games, he has been to the SEC Championship already.”

“Yes, he will have to replace Jayden Daniels. Yes, I think, personally, (Garrett) Nussmeier is going to be very well-equipped to take over at that position. They have great weapons on the perimeter. Now it’s about figuring things out on the defensive side. If I look back at his teams at Notre Dame, how often was defense a huge liability? It wasn’t. It wasn’t at all. I think he went out and hired a really good defensive coordinator in Blake Baker,” said McElroy. “As far as the playing field is concerned, I don’t think LSU is in a bad spot whatsoever. They’re going to continue to win. Winning 10 games a year in the SEC is pretty dang hard to do.”

However, his assumption was that the critiques from the question more so references Kelly’s apparent stances on name, image, and likeness. Still, McElroy discredited those critiques too based on his interpretation of what Kelly actually has said.

“I’m assuming that this is a question that kind of revolves around the comments that went viral from Brian Kelly. The problem is, if you actually listened to what he said, the comments had no reason to go viral,” said McElroy. “It’s just people are looking for low-hanging fruit and bottom-feeder topics as it relates to NIL and paying players.”

“As it relates to the paying players conversation, which is where I think a lot of the negativity around Brian Kelly this offseason has surrounded him? I listened to his comments and I don’t get the sense that he is not supportive of NIL. I see the headlines, I see the stories, I see what people are saying – ‘Oh, he’s going to get sued’, ‘Oh, he’s going to do this’, ‘LSU is not in NIL’. Yeah, they are,” McElroy said. “There are plenty of guys at LSU under Brian Kelly’s leadership that have done really well when it comes to NIL. What he said is he’s not going to be in the business of buying players. I think what that means, the way I interpret it is he is not going to be real excited about bringing in a player that’s number one priority is maximizing his NIL value.”

McElroy explained that the stance was about an overall philosophy for Kelly. He isn’t necessarily opposed to NIL as much as he is of it being a main topic within recruitments. If that’s the case, the Tigers may just eventually pass on certain prospects, which is a decision that Kelly is able to make at the top of the program.

“NIL will be there for you. If you choose LSU, you will have access to NIL opportunities. But that can’t be the sole reason why you’re choosing to go to LSU over the other places that you’re considering,” McElroy said. “People might see it differently. I respectfully disagree. I know LSU has long been a player in the NIL world since it got thrust into the spotlight a few years back. They’re going to continue to be a player in the NIL world. But Brian Kelly wants to prioritize the players that want to win, that want to do things a certain way, that want to buy into the culture that he’s creating there in Baton Rouge more so than the guys that are looking for the top possible dollars available in NIL via the portal or via recruiting.”

“Brian Kelly is perfectly within his right to say what he said,” said McElroy. “I didn’t view it as a negative. I viewed it more as, ‘Hey, yes, we want you to get as much money as you can. But, if that’s your sole reason for choosing us, then this might not be the place for you.'”

Many coaches usually, whether fair or not, come under criticism for one reason or another. In this case, though, McElroy doesn’t what there is to blame about Kelly, whether on or off of the field.