Brian Kelly is not done with college football yet. He is just doing it from the booth this time.

Kelly was fired from the LSU Tigers in 2025 after the program's patience ran thin with a 5-3 start and a loss against the Texas A&M Aggies. He otherwise holds an overall 34-14 record in nearly four seasons with the Tigers. Kelly is now set to join CBS Sports as a color analyst for the 2026 college football season, per Front Office Sports'' Ryan Glasspiegel.

On3 confirmed the news on X.

"NEW: Brian Kelly will join CBS Sports as a college football analyst this upcoming season. Kelly will call Mountain West games in 2026," the account posted.

Kelly is expected to be part of a three-man booth calling Mountain West games on CBS.

"This move was partly foreshadowed when Kelly was a part of CBS Sports Network’s studio coverage around the NFL Draft," reported Glasspiegel. "He will also be an analyst on the CBSSN weekday program, Inside College Football, this season.

Kelly is 297-109-2 across his career at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and LSU. The CBS deal is for the 2026 season only as of now.

Being away from the gridiron for the past couple of months, Kelly spoke in April about why he still wants to be around the game.

"I still want to make a difference," Kelly said, per On3. "All the young men that have been under my charge for over 35 years, I feel like I have a lot still to give. And my motivation is to want to get back to building relationships and successful programs in college football."

While he is yet to find a role in college football, taking charge of the booth left fans concerned.

The fans are not happy about this

Brian Kelly’s transition from elite head coach to a television analyst is viewed by fans as a miserable experience for both Kelly himself and the audience watching him.

"Not sure who's being punished more, him or the viewers?" one fan posted on X under On3's post.

Another fan commented on Kelly's career graph from leading Notre Dame to a national title appearance in 2012 to broadcasting.

"Went from having two top-10 coaching jobs in the sport to calling San Jose State vs Wyoming. Ggs," another fan wrote.

To another fan, there is already a lack of enthusiasm about Mount West, and Kelly calling the plays will make the game less enjoyable.

"Mountain West is about to be even more boring," another fan posted.

One fan brought in Kelly's full history to explain why the skepticism runs so deep.

"This guy is someone I'll never like. After what happened at Notre Dame and how he did Cincinnati… that's not even mentioning LSU by the way," a fan wrote.

Kelly left Cincinnati for Notre Dame in 2009. He then left Notre Dame for LSU in 2021. Both departures left fans with a bitter feeling.

Do you think Brian Kelly can win over fans as a CBS analyst in 2026? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar