Artificial intelligence – also known as AI – has already taken over many different aspects of modern life, influencing everything from business to entertainment. Could college football be next?
East LSU And Notre Dame head coach brian kelly Definitely thinks so. In fact, in the six months since his dismissal on Oct. 26 after 3 1/2 seasons leading the Tigers, the 64-year-old Kelly has turned to AI to help him prepare for his next head coaching opportunity within the constantly evolving college football landscape.
“Every day, I’m trying to do my due diligence using the cloud and AI, asking questions to create some answers that I think might be useful to me when I get in front of an athletic director,” Kelly said this during a conversation on Tuesday USA TodayJohn Bryce and Blake Topmyre.
Cloud is a next-generation AI assistant online chatbot powered by Anthropic, one of the country’s leading artificial intelligence companies, which is trained using “constitutional AI” to be safe, accurate and secure, according to its website. It can process large amounts of information found online for the purposes of brainstorming ideas, helping customers understand complex topics, and even coaching people like Kelly in difficult situations – in this particular case, preparing Kelly for her next job interview.
While he knows the art of coaching can never be fully automated by AI, Kelly said he hopes it can develop into an important tool that collegiate coaches can and will use as the game evolves, especially in the ever-changing world of NILs, revenue-sharing and transfer portals.
“The cloud, as you know, is probably a little bit better at predicting some of the things outside the line, whereas ChatGPT is much more driven right down the center. But there are some interesting things that I’ve put forward in relation to recruiting, profiling, transfer portals, there’s a lot of things you can do,” Kelly told USA TODAY. “And I think that’s going to be part of the next iteration in coaching. You have to use those tools. Now, look, it’s not going to capture everything. Balls and strikes are going to remain in Major League Baseball. But it’s not taking over the game, I think it’s enhancing it. And I think AI, used the right way, and understanding how to use it can enhance the experience for everybody.”
Following his dismissal at LSU midway through the 2025 season, Kelly faces his first college football season out of coaching since his first season at Grand Valley State in 1991. Kelly remains one of the top 10 winningest head coaches in college football with 297 wins at all levels, including 182 wins in Division I. Kelly was fired on October 26, 2025, after going 34–14 without a College Football Playoff appearance in three and a half years at LSU. appearances