Brian Kelly shares when he realized his fit is college football over NFL

LSU head coach Brian Kelly admits that he has considered coaching in the NFL. But ultimately, Kelly decided that he fits in best at the college level.

Kelly explained his reasoning during a press conference earlier this week, sharing that he likes the control that comes with being a college head coach.

“In my time as a collegiate head coach I got a chance to really shape my roster, handle the scholarships, determine all the complexions of what your program looks like. And so with all of those things, the buck stopped with me,” Kelly said.

“When I got a chance to look at the NFL, I saw a de-centralized model. There was a director of personnel. There was a GM. And so a lot of those buckets were not in my control. And I’m not a control freak, by any means, but I would not have control of some of the things I thought were very essential in building a successful program. And I think that’s when I saw that that wasn’t what I was looking for.”

Brian Kelly has obviously been an incredibly successful college head coach.

He had impressive stints at Cincinnati and Notre Dame, before eventually coming to Baton Rouge.

During his coaching career, he has twice been named the AP College Football Coach of the Year. Kelly has 10 10-win seasons as an FBS head coach and has reached seven New Year’s Six/BCS bowl games. He also led Notre Dame to the national championship game in 2012 and has plenty more that he still wants to accomplish at the college level.

“My real ‘Why?’ was that I love player development. That’s why I got in it and watching players develop and grow, you don’t get that same opportunity in the NFL as you do in college,” Kelly said.

Brian Kelly rules out two players for Week 8 against Army

As for the current LSU team, Brian Kelly and the Tigers are 5-2 heading into Saturday’s game against Army.

LSU won’t be at full strength as it attempts to win its sixth game of the year.

On Thursday, head coach Brian Kelly revealed offensive tackle Emery Jones and defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo will be out for the contest, per The Bengal Tiger’s Matthew Brune.

Wingo’s injury is nothing new. The standout junior played limited snaps against Auburn due to injury issues. Meanwhile, Jones’ injury is fresh, occurring in LSU’s 48-18 win over Auburn this past Saturday. Following the victory, the starting right tackle was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain.