Brian Kelly is out at LSU after less than four seasons.
LSU fired Kelly on Sunday, one day after an ugly 49-25 home loss to Texas A&M. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Kelly was informed of his dismissal earlier Sunday, and the school is negotiating with his agents regarding the terms of his departure.
Multiple reports indicated that a team meeting had been called at 9 p.m. ET, presumably to inform players of the change. Rumors had been circulating throughout the day Sunday about Kelly’s job status.
Kelly’s buyout figure is roughly $53 million. Part of negotiations may be about reducing or restructuring that figure.
Kelly’s LSU tenure will go down as a massive disappointment. The team never made the College Football Playoff on his watch and regressed in each of his four seasons. While he was 34-14 overall, he never lost fewer than three games in a season, and had already hit that mark after Saturday’s defeat. Kelly openly spoke about competing for a national championship by this point in his tenure, but the program is further away from that ambition than it was when he was hired.
LSU fans had fully turned on Kelly, and could be heard chanting for his firing during Saturday’s game.
The LSU job immediately becomes one of the most attractive in the country, and should draw plenty of high-profile candidates. Kelly’s track record of success should ensure that he lands on his feet somewhere, but his reputation has undoubtedly been damaged by his time in Baton Rouge.
