LSU Tigers predicted to call two head coaches with 10 national championships combined to replace Brian Kelly

The LSU Tigers fired Brian Kelly on Sunday. Instantly, LSU’s opening became the most prestigious available on the market. And it’s inspiring calls for what’d be the biggest reunion in the sport’s history or the return of an all-time great college coach whose one year in the NFL was historically bad.

Joel Klatt floated Nick Saban and Urban Meyer for the Tigers’ coaching vacancy in Death Valley on Monday. Klatt challenged LSU AD Scott Woodward to make the calls to the SEC coaching legends.

“There’s two people that are going to get calls. And I think that LSU is going to force them to turn down $15 million a year. And that is Urban Meyer and Nick Saban. I think both of those guys will get that call, and if I’m Scott Woodward I think you have to make that call,” Klatt said.

Saban is almost certainly not going to burn his bridge with the Alabama Crimson Tide, for whom he still works and has an office at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Saban won a national championship in Baton Rouge, but he no longer has ties to the program.

Meyer is a more intriguing possibility, having coached the Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida Gators to championships during different eras. Meyer laid the foundation for OSU’s current dominance by hiring Ryan Day. Personality-wise, Meyer is closer to Ed Orgeron than Kelly. He’s even closer to fellow Ohio native Les Miles.

LSU and Kelly were never a culture fit. Meyer walks in with more credibility on day one than Kelly ever had on the Bayou because of his previous success in the “Swamp.”

Even Meyer is unlikely for the Tigers, though. He’s moved into a second career and has expressed being content not being involved in the current era of NIL and the transfer portal.

LSU has big money to throw around, looking to save from Kelly’s buyout, but even the gaudiest of paychecks don’t seem likely to lure either Saban or Meyer out of retirement.