LSU fired head football coach Brian Kelly on Sunday night after the team's third loss in four games. A 49-25 drubbing at the hands of Texas A&M was the last straw for the school, as it decided to part ways with the 64-year-old head coach in the middle of his fourth season in Baton Rouge. Getting rid of Kelly might be the right move, but it won't be cheap.
Kelly's contract contains an enormous $53 million buyout, which is the second-largest in the history of college football. Penn State paid James Franklin about $50 million to walk away a few weeks ago, and LSU is now outdoing the Nittany Lions. Ironically, the loss to Texas A&M is what did Kelly in, and the Aggies currently hold the record for the highest buyout of all-time with the $77 million they owed Jimbo Fisher after firing him in 2023.
LSU began the season ranked No. 9 and beat No. 4 Clemson 17–10 in its opener. That got the Tigers ranked No. 3, and they beat Louisiana Tech, Florida, and Southeast Louisiana to start 4–0. That's when the wheels fell off.
Ole Miss took the Tigers down 24–19, then after a bye, they underperformed in a 20–10 win over South Carolina. Back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and Texas A&M followed and LSU was suddenly 5-3 and 2-3 in the SEC.
Kelly arrived in Baton Rouge to much fanfare after bolting from Notre Dame for a 10-year, $95 million contract. He had a successful 12-year run with the Fighting Irish before leaving for the LSU job. Now his tenure with the Tigers is over in the middle of his fourth season.
LSU never truly got things going on Kelly's watch. They finished 10-4 in 2022, then went 10-3 in 2023, before going a disappointing 9-4 last season. The 5-3 start to the 2025 campaign was enough for the school to throw in the towel. Kelly went 34-14 with the Tigers, and a disappointing 19-10 in the SEC.
The school will now turn its attention to the future with a crowded coaching market. Penn State, Florida, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Arkansas are among the schools with open head coaching jobs. Competition to lure the best candidates will be fierce.
On top of those concerns, LSU also has to ship Kelly a boatload of money after buying him out.
Where negotiations between LSU and Kelly currently stand
LSU doesn't plan to pay the $53 million to Kelly without exploring every avenue available. Yahoo!'s Ross Dellenger reports Kelly will continue to receive his $800,000 monthly payments as per his contract agreement. The two sides will also continue discussing an agreement over the $53 million buyout. Dellenger speculated it could be a lump sum. That said, any resolution to that could be months away.
As things stand, LSU will owe Kelly a monthly stipend until 2031, which would be offset by any money he receives from his next football-related job. Rather than pay him monthly for that number of years, LSU could attempt to pay it all up front.
