LSU is firing head football coach Brian Kelly, multiple program sources told The Athletic, less than 24 hours after the Tigers were embarrassed by Texas A&M in a 49-25 home loss.
A team meeting has been called for 8 p.m. CT Sunday. Associate head coach Frank Wilson is expected to be the interim head coach.
Multiple program sources told The Athletic earlier Sunday, on the heels of LSU’s third loss in four games, that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward wanted Kelly to make staff changes, including firing offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, to try to fix an offense that ranks last in the SEC in rushing yards per game. However, when Kelly and Woodward met Sunday afternoon, things got very tense. After Woodward told the head coach to fire his play caller, Kelly fired back that he wanted to make other staff moves Woodward wasn’t comfortable with. The situation then escalated, with the head coach pushing back hard against his boss.
Threats about negotiating a settlement of Kelly’s $53 million buyout came up, but whether the LSU Board of Supervisors would give Woodward the authority to do that was another matter that needed to be sorted out. The school has been operating under an interim president, College of Agriculture dean Matt Lee, since May, when previous president William Tate left to take the same role at Rutgers.
Kelly left the football facility, as did pretty much everyone else on the LSU staff, as they awaited some resolution. Kelly’s agent, Trace Armstrong, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Conversations on Sunday evening were ongoing among Tigers leadership and power brokers that include the state’s governor, Jeff Landry, to assess an immediate path forward with the LSU football program and Kelly’s future in Baton Rouge. Landry met with the LSU Board of Supervisors on Sunday evening to address the matter.
The Tigers began the season No. 9 in the AP poll, as Kelly embraced the expectations for his team in Year 4. Kelly said that LSU’s roster cost $18 million to assemble, which more than tripled the financial commitment made to last year’s team. He had made bold proclamations about 2025 last winter after the program had backslid in his third year on the job.
“We’re taking receipts … and we’ll see you at the national championship,” Kelly said after the Tigers finished the season by beating an Oklahoma team that went 6-6.
The three coaches who preceded Kelly at LSU — Ed Orgeron, Les Miles and Nick Saban — all won a national title in their first four years on the job. Kelly’s record at LSU is 34-14, including a 5-11 mark against ranked opponents. His offense ranks No. 105 in the nation in rushing yards per carry (3.78) and No. 83 in scoring (25.5 points per game).
Tigers players are scheduled to be off Monday, as LSU begins an idle week before playing at No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 8.
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