LSU, Brian Kelly begin war for $54M buyout with 'for cause' question around firing

LSU made a bombshell announcement when it decided to dismiss head coach Brian Kelly. Now, according to a new lawsuit, the program is acting like it didn’t technically happen.

Kelly and his attorneys filed a lawsuit against LSU’s board of directors, alleging the program has taken the position that it never “formally terminated” the Tigers’ football coach, and is now seeking to fire Kelly “for cause.”

If successful, the move would allow LSU to skirt paying Kelly’s full $54 million buyout — the second-most expensive buyout ever for a college coach.

The suit contends that Kelly was informed of LSU’s sudden position change “for the very first time” on Monday, according to a copy of the filing obtained by ESPN.

Shortly thereafter, Kelly’s representatives filed a 48-page lawsuit seeking “declaratory judgment confirming that LSU’s termination of Coach Kelly is without cause and that Coach Kelly is entitled to receive the full liquidated damages provided for in (his contract).”

Kelly, who signed a ten-year, $95 million contract with LSU in 2022, was first let go on Oct. 26, a day after the team fell to Texas A&M, its third consecutive loss, and dropped to 5-3 on the season.

At the time of Kelly’s release, then-athletic director Scott Woodward confirmed the decision was made because “success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.”

The lawsuit contends that LSU did not inform Kelly and his representatives what behavior of his warranted a “for cause” dismissal, though he was told that he was — technically — still employed because Woodward did not have “the authority to terminate coach Kelly and/or make settlement offers to him.”

Woodward stepped away from the program just four days after firing Kelly, following an Oct. 29 press conference in which he was criticized by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who declared Woodward would have no say in the upcoming hiring process.

“Right now, we’ve got a $53 million liability. We are not doing that again,” Landry said at the conference.

The governor’s comments were included in the filing.

The court filing rebutted three key points it alleged LSU made during the Monday phone call: The idea Kelly had not been fired, that Woodward didn’t have the authority to make the call and that there were any grounds for dismissal with cause.

Kelly’s contract did include a “for-cause” termination clause. For that to be activated, the grounds for his firing would have to be a “substantial [NCAA] rules violations,” being convicted of a felony or “any crime involving gambling, drugs, or alcohol,” or engaging in misconduct detrimental to the brand or mission of LSU — not fielding a mediocre football team.

Kelly’s lawsuit also contends that LSU never claimed he was fired for cause or that he had engaged in any conduct that justified such a dismissal.

“To the contrary,” the filing reads, “LSU repeatedly confirmed, both publicly and to Coach Kelly, that the termination was due to the team’s performance, not for cause.”

The suit also details the process of a “for cause” dismissal, emphasizing that LSU would have had to inform Kelly within a seven-day period — to which Kelly would have had seven days to respond. Two weeks later, no such conversations have transpired, according to the suit.

LSU’s alleged sudden change of tune comes after the program attempted to settle with Kelly multiple times. The suit includes emails revealing offers of $25 million and then later $30 million, the latter broken into two payments.

Kelly turned down both.

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