The drama over former LSU Coach Brian Kelly’s buyout is over as the university has informed Kelly he’s been terminated without cause, and the school will pay him nearly $54 million.
According to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Kelly will receive his full buyout in monthly payments over six years as long as he makes a sincere effort to find another job, whether that’s as a coach or a college football analyst on TV.
If he lands another job, whatever he makes will be deducted from the amount LSU owes him.
The decision by LSU to pay Kelly’s full buyout comes one month to the day he was fired by then athletics director Scott Woodward after a disastrous second half against Texas A&M.
But Kelly’s attorneys claimed in a lawsuit that LSU was seeking to fire the coach for cause to pay a lesser buyout.
Legal analysts said it would be difficult for LSU to justify its claim it fired him for cause. There was talk that LSU would invoke a morality clause in his contract.
I am no legal expert, but I found that argument weak, because LSU told Kelly he was no longer the coach a day after a bad loss at home. If Kelly was doing a bunch of bad stuff in his personal life, why didn’t they fire him earlier?
Maybe LSU would have had a stronger case if they terminated Kelly after the Clemson win.
But in the end, LSU has made the right decision, quit dragging the Kelly era through the mud, pay up on your $100 million mistake, and get ready to sign another coach to a highly lucrative contract.
LSU could announce a new head coach in a few days, and they do not need this buyout dispute continuing to make headlines as the new coach is attempting to build a championship roster.