Entering his fourth year at LSU and reaching into his own pocket to help fund the Tigers's roster, Brian Kelly has a simple answer for what he believes college football most needs in an ongoing era of sea change.
Addressing the assembled masses at Southeastern Conference media days in Atlanta, Kelly was asked what he would like to see from a big-picture governance standpoint in college football.
"Transparency and consistency," said Kelly, who indicated he believes this LSU team has "championship depth" -- in part because the program heavily invested in the roster, a move that included a million-dollar input from Kelly. "Those two words are probably the most important thing as we continue to move forward.
"Now, other thing we would like federal government involvement. I got the Christmas list here. I can go through them all. If we start with transparency and start with the clear communication necessary and consistency and approach, look, I know this might not be what you were asking, but it's got to start with coaches."
Notre Dame's all-time winningest coach who stunned the sports world when he bolted for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after the 2021 regular season, Kelly clarified what he meant by starting with his peers and himself.
"It's got to start with us. I mean, we have to be the stewards of this," said Kelly, who's 29-11 in his three seasons on the bayou and needs just eight more wins for 300 career victories. "There has to be a moral high ground. Ethics in this. It starts with us. It starts with coaches.
"I was at a speaking engagement a few weeks back, and every question about the NIL was trying to find a way around it, trying to find a way to bring in revenue in some other way. Sooner or later, we have to take the stand that transparency, consistency, ethics, and morality are at the core of this."