Texas Bowl: Coaching Transitions, Opt-Outs, and Brian Kelly's Final Product

Shutdown Fullcast · December 26, 2025 · Listen to Original Episode →

Original Title:

TL;DR

The Texas Bowl features LSU's interim coach Frank Wilson, who will return to Ole Miss to join Pete Golding's staff post-game, highlighting a complex coaching transition.
The game's sponsor, Kinders, is a California-based barbecue company, not a Texan one, adding an unexpected geographical element to the "celebration of Texan travel inefficiency."
LSU's participation marks their second consecutive bowl appearance, following a win in last year's "Rodeo Bowl" equivalent, emphasizing a tradition of unique pre-game events.
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU's quarterback, is opting out due to an abdominal strain, indicating a trend of players prioritizing NFL draft prospects over postseason games.
Houston's coach Willie Fritz is characterized by his "creepy eyes" and perceived lack of presence, leading to speculation about his coaching longevity and aspirations.
The commentary suggests that LSU's performance in this game represents the last tangible evidence of a "solely Brian Kelly managed product" before his departure.

Deep Dive

The 2025 Texas Bowl between LSU and Houston is overshadowed by coaching transitions and opt-outs, diminishing its significance as a competitive matchup and highlighting the fluid nature of college football rosters. This game serves as a final tangible product of the Brian Kelly era at LSU before his successor, Lane Kiffin, takes over.

The coaching carousel has significantly impacted both teams. LSU will be interim coached by Frank Wilson for this game before he joins Pete Golding's staff at LSU. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU's quarterback, is opting out to prepare for the NFL draft, and numerous other LSU players are also expected to opt out, weakening the team considerably. Houston, coached by Willie Fritz, faces no such widespread opt-out issues, suggesting a more stable roster for their side. The commentary also touches on Willie Fritz’s distinctive appearance, with the speaker humorously questioning his existence and comparing his eyes to those of a doll, while acknowledging Fritz's coaching effectiveness.

The episode touches on the bowl game's sponsor, Kinders, a California-based barbecue company, and notes LSU's participation for the second consecutive year. A unique aspect of bowl week mentioned is the "Rodeo Bowl," an event where teams compete in rodeo events, though it had not yet occurred at the time of recording. The broadcast team for this game, Tom Hart, Jordan Rogers, and Cole Cubelic, is lauded as the best of the season. Ultimately, the Texas Bowl appears to be more of a transitional event and a showcase for ancillary activities rather than a marquee football contest, largely due to the player opt-outs and coaching changes affecting LSU.

Action Items

Audit LSU coaching transitions: Document 3 key personnel changes and their impact on team performance (ref: Frank Wilson interim role).
Analyze Willie Fritz's coaching longevity: Compare his career trajectory and perceived "ancient coach" perception against 2-3 comparable coaches (ref: age and coaching carousel discussion).
Track opt-out impact: For 3-5 key LSU players, measure the correlation between their absence and team performance metrics in the bowl game.
Evaluate bowl game sponsor relevance: Assess the connection between the Kinders brand and the Texas Bowl's geographic location or target audience.

Key Quotes

"WWWWWWWWELCOME to the return of 40 For 40, our bowl preview series where every bowl game gets its own episode and each episode is exactly as long as that game deserves."

The podcast hosts introduce their bowl preview series, "40 For 40," explaining that each episode's length is determined by their subjective assessment of the game's importance. This establishes their approach of prioritizing their own judgment in content creation.

"We're gonna break some news for some of you first. Frank Wilson is interim coaching LSU through the bowl game before Lane Kiffin, who came from Ole Miss, takes over at LSU. And when this game is over, Frank Wilson's going back to Oxford to join Pete Golding's staff at LSU."

The hosts reveal a coaching transition at LSU, noting that Frank Wilson will serve as interim coach for the bowl game before Lane Kiffin takes over. They also mention Wilson's subsequent move to join Pete Golding's staff at LSU, providing specific details about coaching changes.

"This began life as the Bluebonnet Bowl and, holy shit, it has an actual sponsor. Kinders is a barbecue place that makes seasonings and sauces, but it is not in Texas. It is in California, but it is in the part of California where you can get good barbecue, like halfway up in the California where you start getting like good tri-tip country."

The hosts discuss the sponsorship of the Texas Bowl, noting that it is named the Kinders Texas Bowl and that the sponsor, Kinders, is a barbecue company based in California. They elaborate on the sponsor's location within California, suggesting it is in a region known for quality barbecue.

"As of the recording of this preview, that game has not happened yet. We will of course, exhaustively cover what happens in the Rodeo Bowl at a later date. Um, we like having two squads of big cats represented among the mascots. They are leaning into the branding accordingly."

The hosts mention the "Rodeo Bowl," an event that occurs during bowl week where teams compete in rodeo-based activities. They state that this event has not yet occurred at the time of recording and that they plan to cover it extensively later, noting their appreciation for the presence of "big cat" mascots.

"This is like, when, when do we get the last tangible evidence of a solely Brian Kelly managed product sucking? This game. That's it."

One of the hosts asserts that the upcoming game will provide the last clear evidence of a team solely managed by Brian Kelly performing poorly. This statement directly criticizes Brian Kelly's coaching performance.

"I have a question. What did Willie Fritz do? He has creepy eyes, like steamboat Willie. That's public domain property, Willie Fritz. There's no, there's no iris in him. It's just black in the middle, like a doll. I don't like it. Like a doll's eyes."

A host expresses a peculiar observation about Houston's coach, Willie Fritz, focusing on his eyes, which they describe as "creepy" and resembling a doll's. This personal aesthetic critique is presented as a reason for their skepticism about Fritz.

Resources

External Resources

Books

"and other work" by Jason Kirk - Mentioned as Jason's critically praised novel and other work.

Articles & Papers

"Channel 6" (year-round newsletter) - Mentioned as a year-round newsletter that is mostly about football, until it’s not.

People

Frank Wilson - Mentioned as interim coaching LSU through the bowl game before Lane Kiffin takes over, and returning to Oxford to join Pete Golding's staff.
Lane Kiffin - Mentioned as taking over at LSU.
Pete Golding - Mentioned as having a staff at LSU that Frank Wilson will join.
Tom Hart - Mentioned as part of the best announcing team for the game.
Jordan Rogers - Mentioned as part of the best announcing team for the game.
Cole Cubelic - Mentioned as part of the best announcing team for the game.
Brian Kelly - Mentioned as the reason for LSU being in the game and for their performance.
Willie Fritz - Mentioned as the coach of Houston and discussed in relation to his appearance and coaching career.
Garrett Nussmeier - Mentioned as not playing in the game due to an abdominal strain and being draft-ward bound.
Spencer - Mentioned as writing the "Channel 6" newsletter.
Holly - Mentioned as writing the "Channel 6" newsletter.
Jason - Mentioned as the author of a critically praised novel and other work.
Ryan - Mentioned as having a new show, "Phantom Island," with Steven Godfrey.
Steven Godfrey - Mentioned as having a new show, "Phantom Island," with Ryan.
Michael Ray Surber - Mentioned as the producer of the episode.
Russell Powell - Mentioned as arranging and performing the "40 For 40" intro for the Fullcast theme.
Matt - Mentioned as arranging and performing the "40 For 40" outro for the Fullcast theme.
Fred Hampton - Mentioned in relation to his death in 1969.
Harry Truman - Mentioned as having died before the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Lyndon Baines Johnson - Mentioned as having died shortly after 1960.
Judy Garland - Mentioned as having died before the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Ho Chi Minh - Mentioned as having died before the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Selma Ritter - Mentioned as having died before the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Charles "Peewee" Russell - Mentioned as a jazz clarinetist who died before the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Organizations

LSU - Mentioned as a team playing in the Texas Bowl and in relation to coaching changes.
Houston - Mentioned as the coach of the opposing team in the Texas Bowl.
Ole Miss - Mentioned as the former team of Lane Kiffin.
Trans Ohio - Mentioned as the recipient of proceeds from PTKU merch sales.
Killer Antz - Mentioned as Surber's band.
Baylor - Mentioned as a team LSU beat in the past.
Memphis - Mentioned in comparison to the Rodeo Bowl.
BYU - Mentioned in comparison to the Rodeo Bowl.
Georgia Southern - Mentioned in relation to coaches.

Websites & Online Resources

PTKU merch (preownedairboats.com/collections/ptku) - Mentioned for merch sales benefiting Trans Ohio.
preownedairboats.com - Mentioned as the website to purchase PTKU merch.
transohio.org - Mentioned as the website for Trans Ohio.
channel-6.ghost.io - Mentioned as the website for the "Channel 6" newsletter.
jasonkirk.fyi - Mentioned as Jason's website for his novel and other work.
falconscottproductions.com - Mentioned as Ryan's website for his new show.
linktr.ee/killerantz - Mentioned as the link for Surber's band, Killer Antz.
rss.com/podcasts/podcasterino-pod1/ - Mentioned as the link for Surber's new show, Podcasterino.

Other Resources

40 For 40 - Mentioned as a bowl preview series.
Texas Bowl - Mentioned as the game being previewed.
Bluebonnet Bowl - Mentioned as the original name of the Texas Bowl.
Rodeo Bowl - Mentioned as an activity during bowl week where teams compete in rodeo events.
Edmund Fitzgerald - Mentioned in relation to historical figures' death dates.
Jade Helm - Mentioned as a concept people might seek.