Paul Finebaum: Scott Woodward hit the home run of all home runs by hiring Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge has exceeded all expectations. When LSU athletic director Scott Woodward decided to hire Kelly away from Notre Dame, it was undoubtedly one of the biggest coaching moves in recent memory. And now that’s paying off for the Tigers.

LSU won against Arkansas on Saturday, giving the Tigers four wins in a row and eight wins in their last nine games. The Tigers picked up wins over Ole Miss and Alabama in the previous two weeks, two top 15 AP-ranked teams as things currently stand.

LSU’s win over Arkansas was significant on Saturday, as the Tigers ended the day as winners of the SEC West. Brian Kelly will be coaching in the SEC Championship in the first year of his tenure, and ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum says that feat really struck home this weekend.

“I mean I think if Sonny Dykes wasn’t probably the favorite to win National Coach of the Year, Brian Kelly would certainly be in the conversation,” Finebaum said on Sunday. “I was just sitting there yesterday and the idea that LSU has clinched a ticket to Atlanta – we all knew this was going on, but it did strike home that he did it.

“I have a good friend that I’ve worked with that’s a Notre Dame guy who was just taking so many shots at Brian Kelly. Every time I would say something moderately positive, I just felt poison arrows going through me. That’s the funniest part.”

Finebaum: Scott Woodward hit the home run of all home runs with Kelly

Kelly was the center of a lot of jokes and criticism shortly after being hired by Woodward at LSU, and nobody would have thought the Tigers would be where they are today after losing to Florida State in Week 1. LSU responded with four straight wins, before then being blown out against Tennessee. Since that loss to the Vols, though, LSU has gone on the aforementioned four-game winning streak.

Kelly deserves a lot of credit, as does Woodward. Both have completely flipped the script in Baton Rouge with an incredible turnaround from last year’s disappointing 6-7 campaign.

“Another thing about this is Scott Woodward has been able to make people forget that he hired Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M,” said Finebaum. “But by hiring Brian Kelly – and he also wanted to bring Jimbo to LSU – but nobody’s going to criticize Scott Woodward, who has hit the home run of all home runs by bringing Brian Kelly to the Bayou.”

LSU hosts UAB in Week 12 before hitting the road for the regular season finale at Texas A&M. The Tigers are likely to win both of those games, which could give them incredible momentum entering the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 3 against Georgia. After that, LSU hopes to be in a position to be playing in the College Football Playoff.