Brian Kelly famously declared he believed the path to national titles would be easier with the resources and location that LSU provided over what he had in South Bend at Notre Dame.
Three years in, Kelly is 29-11 and has produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Jayden Daniels and won 10-games in each of his first two seasons, but has yet to punch a ticket to the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, Marcus Freeman - his successor with the Irish - led the program to the national title game back in January before falling to Ohio State.
During his time in Baton Rouge, Kelly wasted no time making headlines for everything ranging from a fake accent that popped up during an introduction during a Tigers basketball game, to his cringe-worthy photo ops with recruits during campus visits that have gone viral.
Now he's in the spotlight again - though not of his own doing - thanks to one of the newest coaches to the Texas FCS ranks.
Tremaine Jackson, who led Valdosta State (D-II - GA) to the national title game this past season before falling to powerhouse Ferris State (D-II) and leaving to take over the Prairie View A&M (FCS - TX) program, sent some shots across the bow of Kelly in Baton Rouge during some recent comments regarding recruiting to Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Cory Hogue.
"We don't wine and dine guys in recruiting. We give it to you straight up because I don't have time to de-recruit you."
"You're not going to catch me on Twitter with my hat backward and dancing on the 360 with guys. Brian Kelly did that, and he ain't won a championship yet," Jackson shared.
While Kelly happened to be the one catching strays, Jackson surely has to know that getting weird in the name of recruiting has been a time honored tradition that knows no bounds. It wasn't that long ago that multi-time national champion head coach Nick Saban was captured doing the Cupid Shuffle in a recruit's living room.
This fall will mark Jackson's sixth year as a head coach at the college level, which pales in comparison to the resume Kelly has stacked up with stops as the head coach at Grand Valley State (two national titles), Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and LSU where he's a remarkable 292-107-2 overall as a head coach dating back to 1991.
Kelly's two national titles at the Division II level (2002 and 2003) came years before Jackson even started his career in coaching (2006), and while Jackson's comments were almost certainly lighthearted, they have done the trick of capturing some attention and they will certainly draw some eyes to the program coming off a 5-7 season embarking on a rebuild.
...and perhaps that was the real goal of taking aim at an SEC head coach.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.