Copyright American Press
LSU has parted ways with head football coach Brian Kelly. The school, confirming numerous reports, made the announcement Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Tigers suffered an embarrassing 49-25 home loss to Texas A&M. Kelly’s contract would call for a $53 million buy-out for his firing without cause, but in a release the school said, “Terms of the separation are still being negotiated.” Kelly, who was the winningest active coach in college football, finishes his LSU tenure 34-14, 19-10 in the Southeastern Conference games. But with Saturday’s loss, which was filled with “Fire Kelly!” chants from the crowd, the Tigers this season fell to 5-3, 2-3 in the SEC, and out of the rankings. “We will continue to negotiate his separation and will work toward a path that is better for both parties,” athletic director Scott Woodward said in a release from the school. LSU associate head coach/running backs coach Frank Wilson, a former McNeese State and UT-San Antonio head coach, will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. LSU players, who have an open date this week before playing at Alabama on Nov. 8, had a team meeting Sunday night with Wilson to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, Woodward said the “national search” for Kelly’s replacement will begin immediately. “I am confident in our ability to bring to Baton Rouge an outstanding leader, teacher and coach, who fits our culture and community and who embraces the excellence that we demand.” Kelly started this season 4-0 and was ranked No. 4 in the AP poll before the Tigers lost three of their last four games to fall out of the polls and contention for a College Football Playoff berth. “We had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.” There was speculation that Woodward’s job could also be in jeopardy since he made the hire of Kelly and negotiated the contract that could put the school on the hook for tens of millions of dollars. Sunday’s decision came after a lengthy meeting between Woodward, Kelly and school officials Sunday afternoon. The Athletic quoted sources that reported the meeting was tense, particularly between Kelly and Woodward. Woodward, according to the website, reportedly wanted Kelly to make staff changes, most notably getting rid of offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Kelly, who has never been shy about making staff changes, was reported to have said he wanted to fire other staff members, which were moves that Woodward was not comfortable with. The meeting then got heated. “It went bad fast,” an LSU source told The Athletic. Gov. Jeff Landry reportedly met with the LSU Board of Supervisors about the matter. It was not clear what school officials were present for the Sunday afternoon meeting. LSU has been under the direction of an interim president, Matt Lee, dean of the College of Agriculture, since May. The school is expected to hire a full-time president in the coming weeks. After leaving Notre Dame as the Irish’s all-time wins leader, Kelly’s regime at LSU began with high promise even though he inherited a team with just 39 scholarship players. He replaced Ed Orgeron, who was fired in midseason 2021, but stayed on as a lame duck through the regular season. In Kelly’s first year, 2002, the Tigers had a dramatic overtime victory over Alabama while reaching the SEC championship game (before losing to Georgia) and finishing 10-4. He also went 10-3 the following year with Heisman Trophy quarterback Jayden Daniels but a historically bad defense held that team back and the Tigers dipped to 9-4 last year. This year began with high hopes with what Kelly called the “best roster” he had assembled at LSU. Expectations were raised with the Tigers got by a major hurdle in beating No. 4 Clemson, the first time Kelly had won a season opener. But the Tigers offense in particular has struggled and the last two games, losses to Vanderbilt along with Texas A&M, the defense has faltered.
