Three weeks into the 2026 season, there's no shortage of "hot seat" talk, and Brian Kelly's name is already being mentioned as a possible replacement for one of those programs.
Despite a heck of an effort against USC last weekend, Rutgers is off to an 0-3 under Greg Schiano. The Scarlet Knights opened with a 37-21 home loss to UMass on Sept. 3, a program that hadn't won a game since October 2024 and came in as a 29-point underdog according to NBC Sports. A 28-21 loss at Boston College followed, then there was a 42-35 loss to No. 11 USC in Piscataway last Saturday.
The chatter pointed at Kelly quickly. He spoke about it Wednesday on SiriusXM's College Sports Radio, and he didn't sound like someone enjoying the attention.
"You hate hearing the rumors, because that means somebody's job is being evaluated," Kelly shared. "It's uncomfortable for me. I don't feel easy about it. I'm pulling for the guy that's got that job and I want to see him do well."
"I think we all know it's something that gets out in the media and it's talked about because it's juicy, right? But for me, I just focus on what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis, and those things take care of themselves. Those that are making those decisions, they have a plan."
"This is really just about getting media hits and something to talk about, and we'll see what happens when we get into December."
That's the right answer from a guy who spent more than three decades in a head coach's chair before being dismissed at LSU eight games into the 2025 season, and knows what those tenuous weeks feel like for a staff and their families.
Kelly also said his son, who works in operations at Ole Miss, has been sending him social media posts joking that he'd show up in New Jersey with a new accent, a nod to the now famous Southern drawl he briefly broke out shortly after arriving at LSU in 2021.
"I think [my family feels] I can fake any accent no matter where I go," Kelly shared. "I can do the Jersey accent. I can do any one you want."
Credit to him for having some fun with that one.
Kelly is working as an analyst for CBS Sports this fall, his first season without a head coaching job since 1990. LSU fired him on Oct. 26, 2025, the day after a 49-25 home loss to Texas A&M dropped the Tigers to 5-3. He went 34-14 in Baton Rouge, and his buyout was reported at roughly $54 million.
The resume before that is as long and impressive as anyone's in the sport. Kelly won two Division II national titles at Grand Valley State, then made stops at Central Michigan and Cincinnati before 12 seasons at Notre Dame, where he became the school's all-time wins leader with 113 and took the Irish to the BCS title game following the 2012 season. His career record sits at 297-109-2.
Schiano, meanwhile, is in his 18th season as Rutgers' head coach across two stints. Howard visits Friday, followed by Indiana on Oct. 3, with Michigan, Penn State and Nebraska still ahead on the docket.
Kelly made clear he isn't campaigning for a job where there's currently a coach in place. But Kelly and Jimbo Fisher are among the list of accomplished coaches ready to jump back in this coaching carousel season, so expect their names to surface every time a Power Four job starts to wobble.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.