Brian Kelly will leave Notre Dame to become the Louisiana State football coach, the latest in a series of changes to some of the country’s most popular college football programs.

The news was confirmed Tuesday morning by LSU

The hiring follows Lincoln Riley’s move from Oklahoma to Southern California. Both shifts surprised the college football world, as coaches don’t regularly leave elite programs voluntarily, creating attractive job vacancies at universities that Riley and Kelly left.

Kelly looked like an institution at Notre Dame after 12 years in the top job, including a National Championship appearance after the 2012 season and a total record of 113-40. (Victories in the championship matches season were later vacated by the NCAA After it was found that the coach made courses for the players.)

The Fighting Irish finished the regular season 11-1 this year, but he could need a loss by a top team to earn a spot in the National Championship playoff. It was Notre Dame 6th place In the latest rankings for the matches of the four teams. The new ranking will be released on Tuesday evening.

Earlier this season, Kelly beat Knute Rockne to be the all-time winning Notre Dame coach. But his resume lacks a major bowl victory, as he lost in the Fiesta, Cotton and Rose Bowls along with losing the National Championship game.

LSU won the National Championship after the 2019 season, but dropped to 5-5 in 2020. Coach Ed Orgeron announced that this would be his last season in October, when his team was 4-3. Tigers are currently standing 6-6. Like his predecessor, Les Miles, he found that even a national title did not guarantee long-term job security in Baton Rouge.

LSU reports that Kelly will be paid $95 million over 10 years, plus incentives, a significant increase from salary believed to be in the $3 million range at Notre Dame.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join a program with a commitment to excellence, rich tradition, unparalleled pride and passion,” Kelly said in a statement released by LSU Tuesday morning. He added, “I am fully committed to recruiting, developing and graduating elite student athletes, winning championships and working alongside our management to make Louisiana proud. Our potential is unlimited, and I can’t wait to call home Baton Rouge.”

Scott Woodward, the university’s athletic director, described Kelly as “the epitome of a winner.”

Reports had initially linked LSU with Riley, who was over the weekend He denied that he would take the job Before he moved to USC, there was also in-state support for University of Louisiana coach Billy Napier, but he chose to go to Florida.

Kelly’s lure of Notre Dame was an even bigger surprise.

Kelly began his career at Grand Valley State in Michigan, where he won two Division II national titles. He then spent three years in Central Michigan and four years in Cincinnati, culminating in a regular, undefeated season. This led to him getting a job at Notre Dame.

Kelly’s appointment to LSU helps keep the Southeast Conference at the heart of college football: The conference recently added strength teams Texas and Oklahoma, and its members Alabama and LSU have won four of the seven national championships in the playoff period. .

Another team in the Southeast Conference, Georgia, was undefeated and ranked number one in the country this year. She faces Alabama (11-1), third in the playoffs, in Saturday’s conference championship game in Atlanta.

Alan Blinder Contribute to the preparation of reports.