BATON ROUGE — Former LSU head coach Brian Kelly is suing the university, alleging that the university and its board of supervisors are now seeking to fire him "for cause," preventing the four-year coach from being paid his contract's full $54 million buyout, The Advocate reports.

The lawsuit, cited by the paper, says that when he was removed from his position as head coach on Oct. 26, Kelly was told by LSU officials that his firing was due to the football team's performance following LSU's home loss against Texas A&M. Kelly and his lawyers now say that LSU now claims that other grounds for his termination existed. 

If fired for cause, LSU would not have to pay Kelly his full buyout, which consists of 90% of his remaining salary and supplemental compensation to be paid through 2031. 

The paper says that the lawsuit does not specify the exact reason LSU has claimed for firing Kelly. 

The paper also reports that Kelly rejected multiple settlements that would have paid him lump sums of $25 million and $30 million.

The lawsuit seeks 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." 

"LSU has never claimed that Coach Kelly was terminated for cause and, prior to November 10, 2025, never asserted that he engaged in any conduct that would warrant such a termination," the lawsuit says. "To the contrary, LSU repeatedly confirmed, both publicly and to Coach Kelly, that the termination was due to the Team's performance, not for cause."

Kelly's contract has a clause in it that says that, if he were fired for cause, the university would have to give prior written notice and a statement on the grounds of the firing within seven days. This was not done, the lawsuit alleges. 

The school could fire Kelly for cause due to various behavioral issues, including NCAA rule violations, crimes or "serious misconduct" that "constitutes moral turpitude," the paper wrote. The lawsuit adds that Kelly "never engaged in any such conduct."

In the week following Kelly's firing, LSU also removed offensive coordinator Joe Sloan and athletic director Scott Woodward from their positions.

The paper also reports that Kelly rejected multiple settlements that would have paid him between $20 million and $30 million.