Websters defines it as, “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others.” Which if you can’t tell, that is the theme of this article. The LSU Tigers went ahead and relieved Brian Kelly of his head coaching duties Sunday night in Baton Rouge. And honestly…it’s utterly hilarious and gratifying after watching him leave Notre Dame for LSU. Call me bitter, call me mean, call it what you want, you’d be correct but frankly I don’t care. I typically try not to write like a fan but I can’t help myself here.

BK gets the gate in the wake of losing to his former coordinators in Mike Elko and Clark Lea, something that probably didn’t help his case with LSU boosters. He went 34-14 in his time on the job, which certainly isn’t a bad record, but the issue really isn’t about the games he won. It’s about the games he didn’t win that got him fired, which is the problem he had in South Bend. He is 9-21 against top ten teams all time, a number that is unacceptable in a conference like the SEC.

When the chips are down, Kelly is a virtual lock to not come through, which has gotten in the way of him achieving bigger things down south, much like they did in South Bend. Those letdowns of the last few years have combined with what is just a flat out under performing team this year. Expectations were sky high with Garrett Nussmeyer back under center and transfer portal talent on both sides of the ball. It left fans asking the question “if not now, when?” Things got off on the right foot against Clemson, with a huge win on the road…but maybe that says more about Clemson than LSU.

“(I) to be in an environment where I have the resources to win a national championship.” – Kelly on why he left ND

In 2021 Kelly left a Notre Dame program that even I had to admit he had helped to improve dramatically. I don’t hide from the fact that despite his success, I wasn’t a fan of Kelly’s. And more and more it seems he didn’t make a good impression on very many fans in South Bend. His former players don’t exactly speak glowingly about him and his former coaches have their playing hitting tackling dummies with his face on them. The stories have gotten weirder and weirder as time goes on. His pastime of screaming at everyone in sight from coaches to players grows old quick, and his cold approach to recruiting seems to be the biggest difference between him and Marcus Freeman or his LSU predecessors.

Honestly the most puzzling thing about Kelly leaving Notre Dame was that he could have stayed forever. Had he stayed in South Bend, he probably would still be there, and would be on his way to be the second or third most celebrated coach in program history. They would never have fired him, probably due in large part to the fact that they were afraid they couldn’t find a replacement who could at least maintain his level of consistency. But Kelly forced their hand and it has revealed a world where Marcus Freeman is building more talented rosters, and has gone further in the postseason in four years than Kelly ever did in his whole run. Change in format or not, would Kelly have won any of those playoff games? Probably not outside of Indiana.

Before you tell me “but Nick all coaches do this,” yes you’re right, they do. But has anyone made a switch more disingenuously than Kelly did? Fake accent and all, disrespecting the program that elevated him as much as he elevated it on his way out the door. Plenty of coaches leave and that’s just fine, but to do this for the second time in his career, it almost feels like Kelly faced some karma.

The Schadenfreude tastes good, and hopefully my Irish and Marcus Freeman continue to prove Kelly and his thoughts wrong, for years to come. It’ll be interesting to see if Kelly works again soon, takes time off, or even bothers coming back at all. Who could blame him for sitting on his pile of cash? But then again, Brian isn’t exactly known for his decision making.

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.