LSU has fired head football coach Brian Kelly, according to multiple reports.
On3’s Pete Nakos is reporting that a team meeting has been called for 8 p.m. Central, at which time LSU players are expected to be made aware of Kelly’s dismissal. The move comes at the end of what has reportedly been a tense day inside the LSU football building, with heated meetings between Kelly and athletics director Scott Woodward, and reportedly even involving the governor of Louisiana.
The move comes a day after the Tigers lost 49-25 at home to Texas A&M, a game in which they were outscored 35-7 in the second half. LSU is 5-3 this season, with three losses in its last four games.
Associate head coach and running backs coach Frank Wilson is expected to become interim coach, according to Nakos and Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger. The Tigers have an open date this week, then play at Alabama on Nov. 8.
Kelly, who turned 64 on Saturday, went 34-14 in four years at LSU. He coached the Tigers to the SEC championship game in his debut season of 2022, but has not been able to reach that level of success since.
The low point came on Saturday night, as the Tigers led the unbeaten Aggies 18-14 at halftime before getting routed in the second half. Much of Tiger Stadium was empty by the fourth quarter, with “Fire Kelly” chants ringing out from the LSU student section at various points during the game and immediately afterward.
Kelly is owed a buyout of more than $53 million ccording to USA Today’s college football coaches salary database,, though that number could be reduced upon negotiation. He is under contract through 2031, at more than $10.1 million per year.
Kelly has been a college head coach since 1991, with stops at Grand Valley State (1991-2003), Central Michigan (2004-06), Cincinnati (2007-09) and Notre Dame (2010-21) before LSU. He won back-to-back Division II national championships at Grand Valley State in 2002 and 2003 and coached Notre Dame to the BCS national championship game in 2013 and the College Football Playoff in 2020.
Kelly is the third SEC coach to be fired this season, after Arkansas’ Sam Pittman on Sept. 28 and Florida’s Billy Napier last Sunday. Auburn’s Hugh Freeze probably got a reprieve for at least one more week when the Tigers rallied past Arkansas 33-24 on Saturday.
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