Kelly came to LSU in 2022 after spending 12 years with Notre Dame. He took the Fighting Irish to 10 bowl games and finished with a 5-5 postseason record. Kelly brought Notre Dame to the CFP twice in 2018 and 2020, but lost in the first round each time.

The LSU Tigers are closing in on paying head football coach Brian Kelly his negotiated $54 million buyout to leave the program.

Kiffin was already linked to a job ahead of that game — the open spot at Florida — and was forced to address that speculation with his team ahead of the Oklahoma game.