Former LSU Brian Kelly has made his first public comments since he was fired by the school less than two weeks ago.
Kelly said in a statement posted to social media that he would be cheering for interim coach Frank Wilson and the team the rest of the season as the Tigers face Alabama on Saturday night.
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“This journey began with great expectations with my own vision of how to get there,” Kelly said. “Sometimes the journey does not end the way we hope.”
LSU dropped to 5-3 with a home loss to Texas A&M in Week 9. It was the second straight season the Tigers had lost to the Aggies and Kelly was fired the day after the game.
Barring a settlement, Kelly’s over $50 million buyout from LSU is the second-highest in college football history behind the $77 million that the Aggies paid Jimbo Fisher.
LSU was 34-14 in Kelly’s three-plus seasons with the school. The Tigers went 10-4 in his first season and 10-3 in 2023 as Jayden Daniels won the Heisman. However, LSU dropped to 9-4 in 2024 and has also lost to Ole Miss and Vanderbilt this season.
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“As everyone heads on their way to see the Tigers play, I wish Coach Wilson, the coaches and our players the best this weekend,” Kelly wrote. “I know they will do their best for themselves and for LSU. We will be watching and cheering for you.”
Kelly’s statement came the same week that LSU hired a new president in former McNeese president Wade Rousse. Shortly after Rousse was hired, he lifted the interim tag off athletic director Verge Ausberry’s title as Ausberry will lead the search for Kelly’s replacement.
Days after Kelly was fired, LSU fired athletic director Scott Woodward following public rebukes from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. The governor — citing Kelly’s contract and the original contract that Woodward gave Fisher when he was the athletic director at A&M — said that Woodward would not be leading the search for a new football coach following Kelly’s departure.
