Brian Kelly’s LSU saga has officially hit soap opera status. Courtroom drama, political interference, and now, Big Ten whispers. The coach who once stormed into Baton Rouge with a $95 million deal is back in the headlines, this time for legal briefs. LSU’s stance is that they haven’t “formally terminated” Kelly, at least that’s what the former coach’s attorneys claim in their 48-page lawsuit filed in Baton Rouge’s 19th Judicial District. Per the lawsuit, the Tigers are trying to fire him for cause to dodge paying the eye-popping $54 million buyout that comes with his contract. But here’s where things heat up.

On November 11, sports director Fletcher Mackel posted a video on X of NOLA attorney Larry Centola, who dropped a spicy take on the Brian Kelly-LSU legal brawl. “With this much money and this much publicity and this much to gain and lose, yes, you’re going to have to put on a good offense on both sides,” he said. Expect a heavyweight legal slugfest before this one ends in a handshake. The legal expert also predicted an eventual settlement but warned that it won’t come easy. “We still need to learn a lot more facts legally to determine who’s going to be the victor in this dispute,” he added. And that might be the real fourth quarter of this fight.

According to ESPN’s copy of the suit, LSU told Brian Kelly’s team that “grounds for termination for cause existed,” but never said what those grounds actually were. LSU had seven days to put it in writing and they didn’t. Instead, the Tigers’ legal team suddenly decided that the coach’s termination wasn’t official, leaving his buyout in limbo. Kelly’s camp insists he was fired “without cause” back on October 26, the day after a humiliating 49-25 loss to Texas A&M dropped LSU to 5-3. He left with a 34-14 record and three bowl wins, but no playoff berth. 

That wasn’t enough for the then AD Scott Woodward, who said, “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.” Ironically, the AD himself was gone just days later, pressured out by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who blasted him for Brian Kelly’s bloated contract.

Brian Kelly’s lawsuit says LSU never claimed his firing was for cause until November 10. It also accuses the university of retroactively inventing reasons to void his payout. LSU reportedly dangled a $25 million settlement, then bumped it to $30 million, but the ex HC isn’t biting. Still, he’s open to a deal, but it has to “make sense financially.” No one from LSU or the Attorney General’s office is talking. Which means, for now, the $54 million question hangs in the Louisiana humidity. And while the courtroom smoke rises, the coaching carousel is spinning.

Brian Kelly’s Big Ten rumors swirl

While his attorneys play defense in Baton Rouge, Brian Kelly’s name is starting to pop up in the college football rumor mill. CBS Sports’ Chris Hummer revealed on College Football Insiders that there’s “a lot of rumors” linking him to the Michigan State job. “The only job that I’ve actually heard connected to Brian Kelly, like in terms of ‘That might interest Brian Kelly’, is Michigan State,” he said. “That’s in terms of a job he’d be actually interested in. That’s something to watch if Michigan State does come open.” If the Spartans’ HC Jonathan Smith stumbles again, East Lansing might have a familiar face knocking.

Jonathan Smith, sitting at 3-6 in his second season and just 3-12 in Big Ten play, is on the thinnest of ice. The Spartans need to win out to make a bowl game, a tall order for a program still rebuilding its identity. And if that seat gets any hotter, Michigan State’s brass might just decide that a proven winner like Brian Kelly, for all his baggage, is worth the gamble.

For Brian Kelly, a return to the Midwest would make perfect sense. Before LSU, he built his reputation brick by brick in that region. Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, and then Notre Dame. It’s where his roots are, where his systems thrived, and where his persona felt like home. Heading back north could give him the stability, familiarity, and recruiting footprint he never quite mastered in the deep South. And if Michigan State does pull the trigger, it would be one of the most fascinating rebound arcs in recent college football history.