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College Football World Shocked but Not Surprised Over LSU Firing Brian Kelly
In this story:
LSU's Brian Kelly experiment is coming to a close.
The Tigers announced in a statement Sunday night that they parted ways with Kelly as head coach amid the program's 5-3 start to the season.
The news amounts to yet another bombshell dismissal in a college football season already wrought with exits; Penn State, Oregon State and Florida all fired their football coaches earlier this month, among other high-profile cannings this season.
Notably, news of Kelly's exit comes just one day after Texas A&M shellacked the Tigers 49-25.
Given the coach's profile and the influence of LSU's program, news of the intended firing immediately took over social media. Take a peek at that initial reaction below:
The fake accent, the videos of him dancing on pedestals with recruits, zero playoff appearances, a $54 million buyout https://t.co/5lbVYzv9sb
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) October 27, 2025
Welp. https://t.co/jLvSQVV350
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) October 27, 2025
Last night was a bridge too far. https://t.co/3x6Rc5PUPS
— Van “Not Going Anywhere” Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) October 27, 2025
looking forward to hearing his next accent https://t.co/PrgZmt3NYn
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 27, 2025
It’s a crazy time in college football. https://t.co/HDlu5ndj5U
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) October 27, 2025
Well then…. https://t.co/qXI1cZyQVG
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) October 27, 2025
This hiring cycle is about to be crazy. https://t.co/3KPdRF87sK
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) October 27, 2025
https://t.co/yd09AH4uyi pic.twitter.com/z0JeqjsoG5
— Dave Helman (@davehelman_) October 27, 2025
Billy Napier when he sees Brian Kelly show up at the resort in Cancun pic.twitter.com/znP1hugi69
— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) October 27, 2025
How is college more cut throat than the NFL https://t.co/uNyDY1oCJf
— Coach Chenault (@arryn_chenault) October 27, 2025
Kelly will leave the program with a 34-14 record at the helm and a 19-10 record in SEC play. He is owed $54 million in buyout money.
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Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.