Brian Kelly's tenure as the head coach of the LSU Tigers ended at the hands of his former assistant, Mike Elko. Elko worked as Notre Dame's defensive coordinator in 2017 while Kelly was in charge of the program.Following Brian Kelly's firing, Elko spoke about the former Tigers coach's impact on his career. The Texas A&M Aggies head coach said via Bussin’ With The Boys,"Obviously I have a ton of respect for Brian (Kelly). Brian’s the guy that gave me my first opportunity to kind of get on the big stage at Notre Dame, and at that point, I was a defensive coordinator at Wake Forest. He was really the first guy to give me that chance."The Aggies HC continued,"So, I have a ton of respect for him. We’ve got a great professional relationship, a lot of mutual respect for each other. You never want to see that for anybody. You certainly do not want to see that to a guy who has helped you in your career at some point, and a guy that you respect."Elko spent the 2017 season as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive coordinator. He then took a similar role with the Aggies from 2018 to 2021 before becoming the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils.Elko spent two seasons at Duke before rejoining the Aggies as head coach for the 2024 campaign. He's currently 8-0 for the 2025 season, and is looking to guide the program to a college football playoff berth.Brian Kelly's coaching free has some famous namesMike Elko isn't the only household name on Brian Kelly's coaching tree. The former Central Michigan Chippewas, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and LSU Tigers head coach has worked with some talented names over the years.Matt LaFleur and Robert Saleh are respected figures in the NFL. Both LaFleur and Saleh were on the Central Michigan Chippewas staff. LaFleur is currently the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, while Saleh is the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.Clark Lea joined the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as a linebackers coach in 2017. He impressed enough to be elevated to the defensive coordinator position for the 2018 campaign and worked closely with Kelly.Lea occupied the defensive coordinator position at LSU until he accepted the head coach job at Vanderbilt ahead of the 2021 campaign. Lea has steadily improved the Commodores' fortunes, and they're now assured of bowl game eligibility for the second straight season. Perhaps a college football playoff berth is next up for the defensive-minded head coach.Other notable members of Kelly's coaching tree are Butch Jones, Chuck Martin, and Autry Denson. Brian Kelly is in the job market for the first time in decades, and it'll be interesting to see the next step the two-time Big East champion will take.