Brian Kelly was said to be negotiating a buyout with LSU after the school fired him last month, but it appears things have gotten ugly between the two sides.
Kelly was fired by LSU on Oct. 26, which was the day after the Tigers lost 49-25 at home to Texas A&M. The school said in a statement that administrators would “continue to negotiate (Kelly’s) separation and will work toward a path that is better for both parties.” Kelly’s buyout is worth more than $53 million.
On Monday, ESPN’s Dan Wetzel reported that Kelly has filed a lawsuit against LSU that claims the school has not “formally terminated” the 64-year-old coach. The lawsuit states that LSU is still trying to find a way to fire Kelly with cause in order to get out of paying his buyout.
The 48-page suit, which was filed in the 19th Judicial District for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, states that “LSU’s representatives had a call with Coach Kelly’s representatives, where LSU took the position that Coach Kelly had not been formally terminated and informed Coach Kelly’s representatives, for the very first time, that LSU believed grounds for termination for cause existed.”
Kelly’s attorneys are seeking a declaratory judgment that confirms Kelly was terminated without cause and is owed the full buyout figure that the two sides agreed to when the coach was hired.
After Kelly was fired, a report detailed a tense meeting that he had with LSU athletic director Scott Woodward. The report stated that there were “threats about negotiating a settlement of Kelly’s $53 million buyout” but it was unclear if the LSU Board of Supervisors granted Woodward the authority to do that.
The lawsuit that Kelly filed claims LSU officials told Kelly that Woodward did not have the authority to fire the coach or make settlement offers and, thus, Kelly has not officially been terminated.
Woodward and LSU mutually parted ways not long after Kelly was dismissed. Woodward’s departure came after a surreal press conference in which the governor of Louisiana completely threw the AD under the bus.
It is unclear what behavior LSU is looking into that the school believes would constitute grounds to fire Kelly with cause.
The filing also includes emails that show LSU offered to settle with Kelly for $25 million and then $30 million, but the coach declined both offers.
Kelly went 34-14 overall at LSU and never lost fewer than three games in a season, but his tenure was considered a disappointment. Kelly never led LSU to the College Football Playoffs and had the Tigers trending in the wrong direction, which led to fans turning on him.
