Is This the Future for LSU Football? Brian Kelly Makes Statement

College football in Louisiana is less of a sport and more of a religion. In most cases, schools that field college football teams in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Ruston, Hammond, and even Monroe have almost a cult-like following by their fan bases. Granted in the case of Monroe, it might be a doomsday cult, but even still that program has its very fervent followers.

And while college football fans are quick to address their friends and colleagues with stories from the past they often attack a team's coaching staff demanding to know what the future holds. Bragging rights are a serious business in Louisiana and fans of the LSU Tigers have certainly had a lot to brag about over the past few seasons.

The team has won a national championship and produced two Heisman Trophy winners in the span of just a few years. But for the LSU faithful the past is fun to talk about in a bar but the future is what keeps them up at night.

One of the biggest reasons LSU fans have been losing sleep over the past few months has been the Tiger's defense and what it will look like moving forward. The Tigers lost three key defenders to the NFL draft and it's no secret they are looking to fill those cleats with at least one more five-star athlete.

A lot of fans want to know why LSU hasn't just raided the transfer portal and scooped up the best of the best. It's not like they haven't tried but the allure of schools like LSU and hated rival Alabama has begun to wane. Both of those schools have recruited talent with the promise of "success here means success at the next level", the NFL.

The reason the promise of guaranteed NFL and nationwide exposure has dimmed in recent years is because of Name, Image, and Likeness money. Almost any school can offer it and with cult-like fan bases at all of the top NCAA Programs, there is a lot of money floating around to lure top prospects to play for pay instead of playing for pay later in the NFL.

Don't get me wrong, LSU does have a solid NIL program but what Head Football Coach Brian Kelly told WAFB television's Jacques Doucet might be reason for concern among the faithful at LSU.

Kelly made the following comment:

We’re not in the market of buying players. And unfortunately, right now, that’s what some guys are looking for. They want to be bought.

Kelly, who is an old school coach certainly sounds as if the NIL era is not one of his favorite things about the sport he obviously loves. I would imagine the same could be said for former Alabama Coach Nick Saban. Perhaps NIL and the changing landscape of college recruiting is what really pushed him into retirement?

Coach Kelly went on to say:

If you like all the things we do here in developing our players, bringing you into a championship program, playing in front of the best fanbase in America, playing for championships, and having an opportunity for NIL — you should be a Tiger. If you just want to get paid, this is not the place for you.

Kelly's comments were chronicled in a story published on Al.com

That certainly lets a prospective player know where he stands. But then again, can you really buy a championship? I mean if you're not the New York Yankees? I certainly hope not because I find myself liking Brian Kelly even more after hearing and reading these words.

No player should be bigger than a college football program. It should always be about coaching, talent, tradition, and under-the-table booster money, right Jimbo?

Do you agree with Coach Kelly? Or should college football become the exclusive playground of the rich boosters who can't afford their own NFL team? I guess we're going to find out in the next few years.