Photo: Getty Images
LSU reportedly informed head football coach Brian Kelly of its intention to fire him on Sunday (October 26), sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Pete Thamel.
"Sources: LSU coach Brian Kelly was informed of the intention to dismiss him earlier today. The school is expected to inform the team of this development tonight. Talks about the terms of his departure are expected to continue," Thamel wrote on his X account.
The report came minutes after Thamel reported that LSU called a team meeting Sunday night after previously reporting that the athletic program was having "discussions about Brian Kelly's future."
"Sources: LSU is in discussions about Brian Kelly’s future, and that includes outreach to Kelly about his potential departure. The situation is in flux. Kelly is owed $54 million in buyout money," Thamel wrote on his X account.
Kelly, 64, was hired by LSU after 12 seasons at Notre Dame and went 34-14 (19-10 SEC) during his four seasons in Baton Rouge, but has struggled to meet lofty expectations, finishing with a worse record than the previous season each year, which included tying for fourth in the SEC in 2024. The Tigers, who ranked as high as No. 3 overall for several weeks, fell out of the Week 10 Associated Press Top 25 College Football rankings, having suffered back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and Texas A&M in the last two weeks.