Paul Finebaum takes shot at Brian Kelly’s ‘off-brand’ media roles

Brian Kelly isn’t coaching college football this year for the first time since 1983. In his first season since he was fired as LSU’s head coach, he’s serving as an analyst for CBS Sports and College Sports Radio on SiriusXM.

Kelly was one of many media members to weigh in on the Texas Longhorns and quarterback Arch Manning after consecutive losses to the Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators, putting the onus of the blame for Manning’s struggles on Texas coach Steve Sarkisian’s playcalling. However, Manning and Sarkisian got things back on track on Saturday against the Ole Miss Rebels, winning 34-27, and on Monday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum rebuked Kelly’s analysis.

“It was on this day a year ago that Brian Kelly was fired,” Franklin said on The Matt Barrie Show. “(James) Franklin had already been fired. By the way, I want to congratulate Brian Kelly for calling out Steve Sarkisian this week. He picked a good week to show what a big-time Sirius XM radio analyst he is. Brian Kelly cannot do anything right, other than now I’m sure he’s trying to find one of these off-brand jobs to land.”

This season, Kelly co-hosts a weekly college football show for SiriusXM and calls games for CBS Sports on TV.

Finebaum might not be far off the mark on Kelly’s attempting to land a coaching job. Kelly has said publicly that he still has a lot to give to college football and wants “to get back to building relationships and successful programs.” Kelly has already had to address rumors that his name is being floated as a potential fit for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights amid head coach Greg Schiano’s poor start to the season.

“You hate hearing the rumors, because that means somebody’s job is being evaluated,” he said earlier this season. “It’s uncomfortable for me. I don’t feel easy about it. 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. I don’t relish my name being mentioned for other jobs. I’m pulling for the guy that’s got that job, and I want to see him do well.”

Ironically, Finebaum was also highly critical of Sarkisian’s “absolute arrogance” and the job he did with Manning himself after Texas’ Florida loss.

“I’m beginning to wonder if Arch Manning should even start. I know he will, and he’s capable of leading them to a win, but I blame Sarkisian for every aspect of this,” Finebaum said before Texas’s win on Saturday.

Texas has silenced its critics for now, but if things start to go poorly again for the Longhorns down the stretch, Kelly, Finebaum and everyone else in the peanut gallery will be right back to firing off their takes and assigning blame.

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