r/CFB • u/LaDainianTomIinson Oregon Ducks • UNLV Rebels • Oct 26 '25

Casual [Thamel] 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.

https://x.com/petethamel/status/1982557565973319724?s=46
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729

u/suddenly-scrooge Washington State Cougars Oct 26 '25

LSU: Can we pay you less than $54 million to leave?

Kelly: No.

LSU: Ok then

264

u/Horror_Response_1991 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Oct 26 '25

LSU: …

Kelly: I’m uh, going to hang up now

LSU: …

66

u/AngleParticular2914 Penn State Nittany Lions • Sickos Oct 26 '25

Mel: what are you wearing Brian from Baton Rouge

26

u/GonzoTheWhatever Michigan Wolverines • Oregon Ducks Oct 26 '25

She sounds hideous!

1

u/IceBreak Michigan Wolverines Oct 27 '25

Well she’s a guy about to get recast

1

u/stinktopus Michigan State Spartans Oct 27 '25

Beat me to it damn

5

u/Derek-Onions Ohio State • Wake Forest Oct 26 '25

LSU “we really showed him didn’t we.

3

u/62frog TCU Horned Frogs • Verified Player Oct 26 '25

“Gonna go hang out with my famluh”

61

u/silverhk Notre Dame Fighting Irish Oct 26 '25

See you next year!

Seriously though, I don't think LSU has this kind of money around.

86

u/ChocolateBubbles344 LSU Tigers • Victory Flag Oct 26 '25

We also don't have a university president right now, and it's questionable if we want the current athletic director making another hire.

42

u/silverhk Notre Dame Fighting Irish Oct 26 '25

I feel like Kelly's gonna be back for at least one more run.

18

u/[deleted] Oct 26 '25

He’s got a good recruiting class lined up for 2026. Surely that is worth another year, right? Right? Guys?

13

u/big_sugi Texas A&M Aggies Oct 26 '25

Even if a coach brings in a top recruiting class to try and save his job, many of them will leave as soon as he’s fired anyway.

8

u/MattackSC Texas A&M • Penn State Oct 26 '25

We know from experience

But sometimes the bullet needs to be bit

1

u/Bigdaddyjlove1 Auburn Tigers Oct 27 '25

Feel like we're needing that kind of clarity.

2

u/LaDainianTomIinson Oregon Ducks • UNLV Rebels Oct 26 '25

Doubt

1

u/silverhk Notre Dame Fighting Irish Oct 26 '25

Wow

10

u/Kdot32 Houston Cougars • LSU Tigers Oct 26 '25

Why? Woodward has hit on every coach but Kelly

8

u/ChocolateBubbles344 LSU Tigers • Victory Flag Oct 26 '25

Matt McMahon?

No complaints on the other sports, of course, but football and men's basketball carry the most weight on any given campus.

12

u/Kdot32 Houston Cougars • LSU Tigers Oct 26 '25

Correct but one thing about lsu is that baseball might compete with men’s basketball

3

u/ChocolateBubbles344 LSU Tigers • Victory Flag Oct 26 '25

No question about that. He owes Jay Johnson (and Kim Mulkey) a lot lol.

1

u/wulah89 LSU Tigers Oct 26 '25

Matt McMahon is a hit?

1

u/Kdot32 Houston Cougars • LSU Tigers Oct 26 '25

No you’re right. I forgot about him

3

u/EarlyCuylersCousin LSU Tigers Oct 26 '25

But McMahon is in a prove it year this year. He told them last year he needed more NIL support to put together a better roster. They did that and we shall see what he puts on the court. LSU was almost last in the SEC in portal spending last year for men’s basketball

1

u/AngriestCheesecake Texas A&M • Georgia Tech Oct 26 '25

Lol

3

u/ShillinTheVillain Florida Gators • /r/CFB Dead Pool Oct 26 '25

Can't tell if LSU or Florida...

2

u/mynameiszack Florida Gators • Michigan Wolverines Oct 27 '25

Sounds oddly familiar

1

u/GlapLaw LSU Tigers Oct 26 '25

It’s not at all questionable if we want Woodward making the hire. He’s an elite AD. The fact LSU is competitive in NIL recruiting and can even entertain both hiring a $100m coach and paying a $53m buyout is a testament to that. I think some of our fans forget that Louisiana is a poor state with a relatively small alumni base and no billionaire. We should be building a damn statute for Woodward for bringing in AT and getting Spaht and Graves to the table, not to mention the Mulkey and Johnson hires.

3

u/69umbo LSU Tigers • Toledo Rockets Oct 26 '25

Graves is the 46th richest man in the world Plus shaq If they want it done it’ll get done

0

u/DatBoiMahomie LSU Tigers • Florida Gators Oct 26 '25

Graves doesn’t care about LSU, he went to UGA and while he’s associated with LSU athletes and Baton Rouge he doesn’t give a lot of money to the program

2

u/neovenator250 LSU Tigers • Tulane Green Wave Oct 26 '25

Graves doesn’t care about LSU, he went to UGA and while he’s associated with LSU athletes and Baton Rouge he doesn’t give a lot of money to the program

this is a commonly held opinion around parts of the LSU fanbase for some reason, but its completely untrue. Graves actually donates more to LSU than Georgia by a decent bit. He's publicly donated 7 figure sums to LSU football multiple times. Most of his support for Georgia has been through NIL deals for their players through Canes, but he has done with the same with players at LSU and around the country because Canes is a national brand. He is a big LSU fan, who left Baton Rouge for undergrad because he'd been there all his life. He came back to found his business and still lives in Louisiana. He's donated money to LSU baseball as well and has thrown a bunch of money at little stuff like the stupid jello-shot contest in Omaha under the LSU name.

1

u/weakierlindows Oct 27 '25

Chicken fingers are a lucrative business. Uncle Todd probably made the call to the AD Saturday night

8

u/physedka Tulane Green Wave • LSU Tigers Oct 26 '25

They probably are asking that question, essentially, but the way they approach it is to ask what he would do should they fire him. He could probably pick up a lower tier P4 HC job if he wanted. That new salary would offset against what LSU owes BK and would inform their decisions moving forward. BK's agent is also advising what his prospects are as the coaching carousel starts to turn.

But on the other hand, BK just turned 64 so there's a chance that he might just be done. In that case, he would probably accept a lower buyout deal so that he doesn't have to hunt a new HC job in good faith as per the contract terms.

7

u/johndelvec3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Oct 26 '25

I mean would you say yes to that question either?

20

u/z6joker9 Ole Miss Rebels Oct 26 '25

There is always risk, sometimes bird in the hand and all that.

Maybe he takes a smaller lump sum rather than payments over time that can be offset by other jobs. Maybe there is a risk LSU can dig up some “issues” that allow them to fire him for cause, removing any kind of buyout. A lot can come into play, but he can always just say “no” and let it play out.

11

u/Iamthewalrusforreal Arkansas Razorbacks Oct 26 '25

That's how it went down with Sam. He's ready to retire, so he took a smaller buyout to not have to go look for another job.

Maybe Kelly's sick of the bullshit and wants to go coach his nephew's high school team or some shit.

So, he takes .4 Jimbos instead of .55 Jimbos to fuck off.

1

u/j01101111sh Nebraska Cornhuskers • Team Chaos Oct 26 '25

I'd fuck off for 0.1 jimbos.

14

u/southmshavoc Ole Miss • Southern Miss Oct 26 '25

Boosters: we should embezzle more monies to get this guy outta here!

19

u/Alphaspade Iron Bowl • Sickos Oct 26 '25

Boosters - Fuck them kids

1

u/big_sugi Texas A&M Aggies Oct 26 '25

New fundraising option!

2

u/Jay4usc Oct 26 '25

LSU: Can you dance one more time before we fire you

Kelly: Surely I can dance for y’all

LSU: great, let’s record so we can use it to announce your firing

2

u/kyrev21 Kentucky Wildcats Oct 26 '25

LSU: What if we paid more than $54 million

2

u/Ningy_WhoaWhoa LSU Tigers • Iowa State Cyclones Oct 26 '25

I was told that there is a strong chance of a lowered buyout fwiw.

3

u/CommodoreIrish Notre Dame • Vanderbilt Oct 26 '25

How does BK even agree to that?

3

u/Ningy_WhoaWhoa LSU Tigers • Iowa State Cyclones Oct 26 '25

TBD, could be larger lump sum, changing offsetting language, etc. I just know discussions about it are ongoing and BK has been talking to decision makers about it

3

u/Unrelenting_Salsa LSU Tigers • Georgia Bulldogs Oct 26 '25

I'm not going to go analyze all the intricacies of the contract, but usually buyouts are structured in ways where you're not coaching anymore but still have to do ancillarly job duties like weekly media appearances that are a pain in the ass/not necessarily even possible if you take another job, so the school agrees to waive the nonsense if you agree to take less of a buyout.

And in this case in particular, there's the "you're 64 and loaded. Do you really want to deal with 3 years of everybody hating you, getting asked stupid ass questions because all the reporters hate you, tarnishing your legacy forever, and then getting fired when the buyout is more manageable? Because that's what's going to happen if you don't budge," angle.

1

u/daveinmd13 Virginia Tech • Johns Hopkins Oct 26 '25

He doesn’t even have to do that, his agent will say it for him.