After four seasons, LSU has decided to fire Brian Kelly on Sunday morning, the day after the Tigers got hammered by Texas A&M 49-25 on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium. Frank Wilson will be the interim coach for the Tigers as they will be looking forward to the bye week before getting ready to hit the road at Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama.
His $54 million buyout is the second-highest in college football history, next to Jimbo Fisher, who was fired from Texas A&M with $76 million in 2023. James Franklin was the first coach in 2025 to be fired from Penn State which the buyout was $49 million.
Another coach who was fired this season is Billy Napier from Florida this past month. The Gators were not happy with how Napier did not progress during his time there. The same is happening with Kelly, who got the job in 2021 after the Tigers fired Ed Orgeron in the middle of the season. The same is happening to Kelly, where the Tigers are 5-3 overall this season and 2-3 in the Southeastern Conference.
Kelly, 64, arrived at the facility around 8:30-8:45 a.m. local time, intent on evaluating his staff and, according to sources, exploring significant potential changes to the staff. LSU athletic director Scott Woodward had a disagreement with Kelly in the afternoon, which led to the firing on Sunday.
“When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said in a statement released by the school. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize, and I made the decision to make a change after last night’s game. I am grateful for the ongoing consultations and support of the LSU Board of Supervisors and Interim President Matt Lee in this decision. We wish Coach Kelly and his family the very best in their future endeavors. We will continue to negotiate his separation and will work toward a path that is better for both parties.”
There are multiple head coaches in the country that experts are looking to speak to, including Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin. The Rebels just negotiated a contract with Kiffin to keep him here on a contract extension that will give him $9 million with $7.2 million guaranteed.
Multiple other candidates that could be in the running for LSU are former LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, former head coach Ed Orgeron, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, USC’s Lincoln Riley, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, and Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall. Then, you also have Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who guided the LSU 2019 team to win the national championship with Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Jamar Chase. Two other names that sources are stating are Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and former LSU and Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
Kelly was 34-14 during his four years at LSU, and in his first season, he led LSU to the SEC championship before falling to Georgia. He also had a Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The fans were chanting, “FIRE KELLY,” while losing to Texas A&M on Saturday night. The hiring of Kelly did not impress LSU fans, and it felt like it was another Gerry DiNardo move from 1998 and 1999. LSU fans were booing at the team throughout the third and fourth quarters against the Aggies.
A 15-day transfer portal window for LSU players will open five days after the Tigers hire their next coach. (the NCAA’s single window for this cycle is Jan. 2-16).
Woodward, by the way, is the same AD who hired Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M — setting the stage for Fisher to receive an all-time-rich $76.8 million buyout. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry was involved in the deliberations, sources told CBS Sports. Landry called out the football program after Saturday night’s 49-25 loss to Texas A&M, tweeting that LSU needed to “rethink their actions to raise ticket prices for next year after tonight’s showing!”
LSU’s recruiting class for the 2026 cycle ranks No. 11 overall, per 247Sports. In 2025, the Bayou Bengals signed a No. 7 class that ranked higher before the decommitment from No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood, who has started every game at QB for Michigan this fall.
