Baton Rouge, La.–East LSU Coach Brian Kelly shared a statement on social media to fans on Thursday, a little more than a week after he was fired in the fourth season of his 10-year, $100 million contract.
Kelly said, “The journey began with high expectations and my own ideas about how to get there.” “Sometimes the journey doesn’t end the way we hope.
“But when I think back on our time together, I’ll remember and appreciate what we accomplished. … The roar of Death Valley when we beat Alabama. The losses will always hurt, but I’ll remember all the wins.”
Kelly was 34-14 with the Tigers over three seasons, helping them reach the 2022 Southeastern Conference title game. They failed to qualify for the College Football Playoff in each of their first three seasons and were nearly eliminated from the competition with their last loss.
LSU has won three national titles this century – in 2003, 2007 and 2019. The most recent title came under Kelly’s predecessor, Ed Orgeron.
Kelly calls it a privilege to coach exceptional student-athletes, including the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner jayden daniels and 39 SEC Academic Honor Roll players in 2024.
Associate head coach Frank Wilson is the team’s interim coach for the remainder of the season.
Tigers (5-3, 2-3 SEC) host No. 7 alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC) in their first game Saturday since Kelly was fired.
“As everyone is going to see the Tigers play, I wish Coach Wilson, the coaches and our players the best of luck this weekend,” Kelly said.
LSU ousted Kelly and athletic director Scott Woodward amid criticism from Governor Jeff Landry.
On the day of Kelly’s dismissal, Landry said he hosted a meeting at the Governor’s Mansion on the evening of October 26 “to discuss the validity of the contract.” Landry had said he was concerned his state would have to pay for Kelly’s buyout, which is estimated to be about $54 million.
A few days after Kelly’s dismissal, Landry told reporters that Woodward would not select the next coach. The next day, LSU parted ways with Woodward.
The 64-year-old Kelly has a 200-76 mark in Division I since being hired by Central Michigan in 2004. At Notre Dame he was 113-40 and at Cincinnati he was 34-6. Kelly was 118-35-2 at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, winning two Division II national titles and making three consecutive trips to the championship game.
