LSU has straight-up fired head football coach Brian Kelly, and the whole thing went down right after they got smashed at home by Texas A&M. Despite having a winning 34-14 overall record at LSU, the university decided it was time to move on. The 49-25 loss to the Aggies was the final nail in the coffin, leaving the Tigers at a disappointing 5-3 for the 2025 season. The team’s mediocre performance, which led to “Fire Kelly” chants during the game, discouraged fans. Ultimately, the university officials pulled the plug.

More than that, it’s the financial liabilities that result from it. The LSU Tigers are breaking the bank with Brian Kelly’s firing, as they have to pay him $53.3 million. This is the second-largest buyout in college football history, behind the one Texas A&M had to pay Jimbo Fisher. The school will pay him 90% of his remaining salary and bonuses over seven years rather than in one lump sum.

If Kelly had won a national championship and been later fired, the payout would have risen to 100%. Kelly was only slightly over three years into his ten-year, $95 million deal. So, LSU is spending a lot of money to make this move.

Ironically, the move comes shortly after Penn State paid James Franklin about $50 million to walk away, meaning LSU has now surpassed that mark with an even larger payout. The program has championship expectations, and despite some solid regular-season finishes, Kelly never quite got them over the hump, never making the College Football Playoff.

LSU started the season with high hopes, ranked No. 9 in the country. They got off to a strong start, beating No. 4 Clemson 17–10 in their first game, which moved them up to No. 3 in the rankings. Many folks believed Brian Kelly would take them to their glory days. The Tigers then rolled their winning streak with victories over Louisiana Tech, Florida, and Southeast Louisiana, beginning the year with a 4–0 record. At that point, it looked like LSU was on track for its playoff debut.

However, things quickly went downhill. LSU decided to take a 24–19 beating to Ole Miss, and even though they had a week off to recover, they struggled in their next game, an unconvincing 20–10 win over South Carolina. The trouble continued as the Tigers dropped back-to-back games to Vanderbilt and Texas A&M, bringing their record to 5–3 overall and 2–3 in SEC play.

What started as a promising season turned disappointing in just a few weeks. However, some concerns exist about Brian Kelly’s firing and whether it was justified.

Brian Kelly’s justification and who’s next?

Brian Kelly came to LSU with big expectations after leaving Notre Dame, where he had a very successful 12-year run. LSU gave him a massive 10-year, $95 million contract, hoping he could return the Tigers to national championship form. But after nearly four seasons, the results didn’t live up to the hype. His teams went 10–4 in 2022, 10–3 in 2023, and 9–4 in 2024. A slight yearly decline showed that LSU knew this wouldn’t work out.

The Tigers didn’t hire Brian Kelly just to have a winning record – they wanted to win it all, period. Brian Kelly isn’t anywhere near the playoff realm, and going 5-3 heading into Week 10 forced the boosters to pull the buyout trigger.

LSU faces two significant challenges: finding a new coach and paying off Kelly’s massive $54 million buyout. The 2025 coaching market is at an all-time high, crowded with schools like Penn State, Florida, and others looking for a head coach. That means competition will be fierce for the best candidates. Currently, it’s a first-come, first-served situation. In the meantime, the Tigers look at one of their own for the interim head coach job.

Frank Wilson, a New Orleans native, has been appointed interim head coach. He was already the Tigers’ associate head coach and running backs coach, so he knows the team inside and out. During his second time at LSU, he was an assistant for years. He earned a reputation as one of the best recruiters in the game, bringing in legendary players like Leonard Fournette and Tyrann Mathieu.

Before returning to Baton Rouge, Wilson gained head coaching experience, first at UTSA and then at McNeese State. While he had some mixed results at those stops, his deep connections to Louisiana and his history with the program area are huge pluses for LSU.