Brian Kelly receives termination letter from LSU, school to pay full buyout

Brian Kelly has received his termination letter from LSU, Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported. The school said it will pay the full required buyout, totaling $54 million over six years – so long as Kelly finds another job, per the terms of his contract. On3’s Pete Nakos confirmed the report.

Kelly’s termination has been front and center since LSU announced its plans to dismiss him as head coach last month. He filed a lawsuit against the university amid a dispute over the buyout, which ranks as one of the highest in college football history. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry also criticized the figure during a press conference days after LSU announced Kelly’s departure.

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Now, LSU is firing him without cause after Wednesday’s notice. That puts the school on the hook for the $54 million buyout.

LSU said it expects Kelly to “maintain reasonable documentation of” the upcoming job search, including offers and interviews, Dellenger reported. Kelly’s contract at LSU had a duty to mitigate cause, requiring him to search for another job after his firing. The letter said that also includes making “good-faith, reasonable and sustained efforts to obtain” employment, according to Dellenger.

How the Brian Kelly buyout situation unfoled

Brian Kelly filed suit against LSU Nov. 10 in the 19th Judicial District for the Parish of East Baton Rouge, La. According to a copy of the complaint, obtained by On3, he and his attorneys said LSU argued it did not formally terminate the head coach. According to the suit, LSU held a call with Kelly, stating it believed it had the grounds for firing “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,” the complaint states.

Kelly had a 34-13 overall record at LSU prior to his departure, including a 19-10 mark in SEC play. The Tigers made it to the SEC title game in his first season, but did not return to Atlanta after that. LSU announced his departure following a home loss to Texas A&M ahead of the Week 10 bye.

Previously, Kelly had indicated he would be open to a buyout settlement with the school, and LSU said in a press release it was still discussing the terms of separation. At $54 million, Kelly’s buyout ranks as the second-highest in college football history behind Jimbo Fisher’s $76.8 million figure at Texas A&M.