Paul Finebaum's Assessment: LSU Football "Looks Like a Train Wreck"

Finebaum detailed the lack of sympathy from LSU fans, mind-boggled as to what went wrong this season.

Sep 23, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; SEC Nation Roman Harper (left) and Paul Finebaum (right) speak on the sideline during pre-game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The LSU Tigers fell to 6-4 on the season after a devastating loss to the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.

Following back-to-back 10-win seasons for Brian Kelly, the program will take a step backwards in Kelly's third year at the helm with two games to go.

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum was candid during his assessment of the LSU Tigers and the job Kelly has done during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic.

Finebaum detailed the "train wreck" in Baton Rouge and the regression from the program. After an SEC Championship Game appearance in Kelly's first season, it's been a downward spiral ever since.

LSU "Looks Like a Train Wreck"

“Well, he simply walked into a hornets nest right now because the season is literally on the brink,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “It looks like a train wreck from a distance. We’re not there, but everyone now is just going to start piling on him from his own fan base, which is the worst to fan bases around the country, to especially Notre Dame fans, who I think are probably taking great pleasure in his failings. And there’s really no way to sugar coat a three year experience that has not gone particularly well. 

“And I’m aware like you are what he did the first year, but there’s almost nothing for Brian Kelly to say now, other than to try to salvage what looks like a fantastic recruiting class and turn this thing around quickly, because no one is going to be very forgiving for a guy who’s making $10 million a year, who has the highest paid assistant coaching staff in the country, who has four losses, but quite frankly, probably should have six.”

Finebaum's Assessment, Thoughts on the LSU Tigers

When asked if Kelly deserves some "leeway" after losing Heisman Trrophy winning quarterback Jayden Daniels, Finebaum stated:

“No, Greg, I don’t and I understand what you’re saying, and I think it’s, you know, I hear him every week,” Finebaum said. “Fans are not forgiving, especially in today’s environment where everybody is having to recalibrate, literally every single year. This isn’t a four or five year project anymore. He’s not a sympathetic figure … You guys both know him. I mean, I like him a lot. I deal with him very often. He makes it hard on himself. 

“I don’t know what happened on the sidelines the other day, other than what I’ve seen, but those type of things metastasize, and I am particularly interested in what he has to say today, because he’s a smart coach. He’s one of the smartest coaches I’ve dealt with. He knows what people are saying, not that he’s obsessing over it because you can’t afford to not with a schedule like everybody has. But what you laid out there, Greg is probably realistic in principle, but fans simply do not want to hear it.”

More LSU News:

Paul Finebaum: LSU, Brian Kelly in a "Really Bad Spot" Moving Forward

LSU Dishes Out Offer to No. 1 Quarterback in America

Nick Saban Calls LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier a "Sleeper" Ahead of 2024 Season

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