The last few weeks for the LSU Tigers have been a drama and a disaster that no one would even believe is possible. After the Tigers were blown out by Texas A&M, LSU fired Brian Kelly, leading to the Governor giving a press conference before Scott Woodward, the AD who hired Brian Kelly, was let go. The absence of a University President and a vacancy at Athletic Director only added to the moving pieces.
Last week, it seemed like the chaos was dying down in Baton Rouge as LSU appointed McNeese President Wade Rousse as their president. Rousse then named interim Athletic Director Verge Ausberry to the full-time job, and it looked like all the chaos had ended, and LSU could finally focus on the future.
Brian Kelly's lawsuit against LSU is the craziest wrinkle yet
While all of this chaos was going down at LSU, the topic of Brian Kelly's $54 million buyout was quietly still floating around. At first reports came out that Brian Kelly was willing to negotiate the terms which never made sense from his side of the equation. It turns out, taking anything less than he was owed didn't make any sense to Brian Kelly.
On Monday Night, ESPN obtained a lawsuit filed by Brian Kelly, where Kelly's side states that the Tigers are now saying they never "formally terminated" Kelly and are now seeking to fire him for cause.
In a legal filing obtained by ESPN, Brian Kelly’s lawyers state that LSU is saying it never “formally terminated” Kelly and are now seeking to fire him “for cause” which could impact his near $54 million buyout.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) November 11, 2025
Kelly is seeking a declaratory judgement that LSU did fire him and…
According to ESPN's copy of the suit, LSU took the position on a phone call that Brian Kelly wasn't fully terminated, and that the Tigers now believe they can fire Brian Kelly for cause.
"LSU's representatives had a call with Coach Kelly's representatives, where LSU took the position that Coach Kelly had not been formally terminated and informed Coach Kelly's representatives, for the very first time, that LSU believed grounds for termination for cause existed."ESPN Report
If LSU were to fire Brian Kelly "for cause," it would allow them to avoid paying the massive buyout number, but this will also likely play out for years in court. It's unclear what LSU believes the "cause" would be, but if this is the case, this drama will play out in court and get very ugly.
Even if the Tigers believe they have a reason to fire Brian Kelly for cause, this stretch of events is truly embarrassing for the school. The Tigers are hoping to name a big-name Head Coach and seeing that they're about to enter a massive legal battle with their last coach won't be all that attractive when there are other jobs opening.
Every day for LSU is truly something to marvel at, as this series of events is truly more absurd than any other firing in recent memory.