Brian Kelly said legal battle with LSU over buyout has ‘made it nearly impossible’ to land another job

Brian Kelly is still in the midst of his legal battle with LSU, which he claims has “made it nearly impossible” for him to land another coaching job.

Kelly’s attorneys wrote a letter to LSU earlier this month blaming the school for his apparent inability to land another coaching job after his tumultuous departure from the university. LSU has claimed that it has not “formally terminated” him from the role in an effort to get out of paying the massive $54 million buyout that it owes him.

"As you know, there is absolutely no basis to LSU's contrived positions that Coach Kelly was not terminated or that cause existed for such termination," the letter said, via ESPN. "LSU's conduct, including its failure to confirm that Coach Kelly was terminated without cause and its unsupported allegations of misconduct on the part of Coach Kelly, has made it nearly impossible for Coach Kelly to secure other football-related employment.

"LSU's conduct continues to harm Coach Kelly, particularly during this critical hiring period."

The Tigers split with Kelly on Oct. 26 after the team fell to Texas A&M at home, which dropped them to 5-3 on the season. Frank Wilson has taken over as the team’s interim coach. Kelly went 34-14 over his four seasons with the Tigers.

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said at the time that Kelly’s firing was performance-related, and that the “high hopes that [Kelly] would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships” never materialized. Woodward, though, was fired just a few days later. He drew criticism from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, too, who insisted that Woodward wouldn’t be involved in the hiring of Kelly’s replacement.

Kelly filed a lawsuit against LSU earlier this month, alleging that the school has tried to get out of paying him the nearly $54 million buyout that it owes him. Kelly said the school has taken the position that it has not “formally terminated” Kelly, and that it instead wants to fire him “for cause.”

Kelly wants the full $54 million buyout, which would be the second-biggest ever paid to a college football coach. LSU has tried to settle with him twice for $25 million and then $30 million, but he’s declined both offers.

LSU is trying to land Kelly’s replacement in the meantime, too. The school is working on a massive multi-million-dollar contract for current Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, and is seeking a commitment from him in the coming days.

Kelly spent 12 seasons at Notre Dame before landing at LSU ahead of the 2022 campaign. While he struggled to find true success at LSU, he’s still undoubtedly a top coach in college football. There are currently nine open jobs in the power four conferences, and more may follow when the regular season officially ends this weekend. The legal issues, Kelly has argued, have made it extremely difficult to pursue any of those openings.

LSU currently sits at 7-4 on the season entering Saturday’s regular season finale against No. 8 Oklahoma.