Former Louisiana State University head football coach Brian Kelly's attorneys say LSU has taken the position that it has not "formally terminated" Kelly as the Tigers' football coach.
As reported by ESPN, the school, according to the petition for declaratory judgment, is now seeking to fire Kelly "for cause" and potentially avoid paying Kelly his full contract buyout of nearly $54 million. The filing claims that LSU informed Kelly's representatives of this position Monday, ESPN's Dan Wetzel reported.
According to a copy of the suit obtained by ESPN, "LSU's representatives had a call with Coach Kelly's representatives, where LSU took the position that Coach Kelly had not been formally terminated and informed Coach Kelly's representatives, for the very first time, that LSU believed grounds for termination for cause existed."
The 48-page lawsuit was filed in the 19th Judicial District for the Parish of East Baton Rouge just hours after this call, per Wetzel's reporting.
Kelly's lawyers are seeking "a declaratory judgment confirming that LSU's termination of Coach Kelly is without cause and that Coach Kelly is entitled to receive the full liquidated damages provided for in [his contract]."
Kelly was relieved of his duties Oct. 26. At the time — one day after LSU's 49-25 loss to Texas A&M dropped the Tigers to 5-3 on the season — Kelly's dismissal was said to be performance-related, with then-athletic director Scott Woodward saying in a statement, "We had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge. Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize," per ESPN.
The suit alleges that LSU told Kelly's representatives Monday that Woodward did not have "the authority to terminate Coach Kelly and/or make settlement offers to him" in October, and thus, Kelly was never officially terminated. The suit does not specify what behavior might constitute a "for cause" dismissal.
According to Kelly's LSU contract, a "for-cause" termination would be justified following "material and substantial [NCAA] rule violations"; Kelly being convicted of a felony or "any crime involving gambling, drugs, or alcohol"; or Kelly "engaging in serious misconduct which either displays a continual, serious disrespect ... for the mission of LSU" or "constitutes moral turpitude."
As reported by ESPN's Wetzel, the suit alleges that LSU told Kelly's representatives Monday that Woodward did not have "the authority to terminate Coach Kelly and/or make settlement offers to him" in October, and thus, Kelly was never officially terminated.
The filing pushes back on three points that it says LSU brought up on the call:
"Coach Kelly's representatives informed LSU that Coach Kelly disagreed with each of LSU's new positions, including (i) the idea that he somehow had not been terminated, (ii) that the then-Athletics Director Woodward was not acting with authority (in a meeting attended by several LSU athletics officials, including the current Athletics Director Ausberry), and (iii) that there were any grounds for termination with cause (or that LSU could manufacture any such grounds after his termination), thus necessitating this action."
In a separate ESPN report, referencing documents obtained by The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Woodward offered Kelly a lump-sum payment of $25 million on the day he was fired. Woodward also offered to remove the mitigation language in Kelly's contract, which would have reduced the buyout amount if he coached again.
LSU executive deputy athletic director Julie Cromer later increased the settlement offer to $30 million in two payments, according to the documents. Kelly, who had a 34-14 record at LSU, rejected both offers, as reported by ESPN's Mark Schlabach.
