LSU has officially terminated head coach Brian Kelly “without cause,” a decision that — according to sources — makes the university responsible for the roughly $54 million remaining on his contract. The move was communicated in a signed letter Wednesday from new LSU president Wade Rousse, which reiterated the contract’s terms, including liquidated damages and Kelly’s obligation to make “good-faith, reasonable, and sustained efforts to obtain qualifying employment” during the six years that damages would remain payable.
Kelly had been relieved of coaching duties on Oct. 26; the university initially described the dismissal as performance-related. That framing drew scrutiny after public comments by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who criticized the program and then-athletic director Scott Woodward. Following those remarks, Kelly’s attorneys filed a petition seeking a declaratory judgment, saying unspecified LSU officials had told Kelly’s representatives he had not been “formally terminated.”
The petition challenged three claims by the school: that Kelly had not been terminated, that Woodward lacked authority to fire him, and that there were grounds to fire him for cause. Kelly’s lawyers
