Kelly’s attorneys wrote a letter to LSU earlier this month blaming the school for his apparent inability to land another coaching job after his tumultuous departure from the university. LSU has claimed it has not “formally terminated” him from the position in an effort to avoid paying the massive $54 million severance payment it owes him.
“As you know, there is absolutely no basis for LSU’s contrived positions that Coach Kelly was not fired or that there was cause for such a firing,” the letter said, via ESPN. “LSU’s conduct, including its failure to confirm that Coach Kelly was fired without cause and its unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct by Coach Kelly, has made it nearly impossible for Coach Kelly to obtain another football-related job.
“LSU’s conduct continues to harm Coach Kelly, particularly during this critical recruiting period.”
After the team fell to Texas A&M at home, dropping them to 5-3 on the season. Frank Wilson has taken over as interim coach of the team. Kelly went 34-14 in his four seasons with the Tigers.
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LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said at the time that Kelly’s firing was performance-related and that the “high hopes that (Kelly) would lead us to multiple national and SEC championships” never materialized. Woodward, however, was fired a few days later. He received criticism for hiring Kelly’s replacement.
Kelly filed a lawsuit against LSU earlier this month, alleging that the school has tried to avoid paying him the nearly $54 million it owes him. Kelly said the school has taken the position that it has not “formally terminated” Kelly and instead wants to fire him “for cause.”
which would be the second-highest salary ever paid to a college football coach. LSU has tried to reach a deal with him twice for $25 million and then $30 million, but he rejected both offers.
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Meanwhile, LSU is also trying to land Kelly’s replacement. The school is working on a massive multimillion-dollar contract for current Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and is seeking a commitment from him in the coming days.
Kelly spent 12 seasons at Notre Dame before landing at LSU ahead of the 2022 campaign. While he struggled to find true success at LSU, he is undoubtedly still a top coach in college football. There are currently nine vacancies across the four power conferences, with more likely to follow when the regular season officially ends this weekend. Kelly has argued that legal issues have made it extremely difficult to pursue any such openings.
LSU is currently 7-4 on the season entering Saturday’s regular season finale against No. 8 Oklahoma.