LSU board vote to fire Brian Kelly comes as political appointees seek more power over university

by Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
November 21, 2025

The LSU Board of Supervisors’ vote Friday to intervene in the firing of former football coach Brian Kelly is its latest move to give members more power over day-to-day operations at the university.

The board held a special meeting Friday to authorize President Wade Rousse, who just started in the job this week, to review and, if appropriate, send a written termination notice to Kelly. It’s the university’s first response to a lawsuit Kelly filed seeking the full $54 million buyout he’s owed. The only way LSU can get out of paying him is by firing him for cause, which the university has not publicly indicated it will do. 

The vote also sets a precedent about the degree to which the LSU System’s governing board, mostly made up of allies to Gov. Jeff Landry, will be involved in hiring and firing coaches. 

In a statement after the meeting, LSU spokesman Zach Labbé said the board’s bylaws require them to take action on any personnel action related to a coach with a salary over $250,000. 

Historically, the board has not followed this bylaw. Ex-football coach Ed Orgeron was fired without the board authorizing his termination, as have a number of other coaches. Most recently, offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was fired just days after Kelly. Despite being paid more than $250,000, the board has yet to take action on his termination, which raises the question of whether he was officially fired. 

If the board continues on the path it set Friday, it would amount to a significant escalation in its day-to-day management of athletics. 

The move also raises questions as to why the board has approved contracts that include language that violates its bylaws. It has regularly approved coaching contracts, including Kelly’s, that allow the president to act for the university in firing a coach. 

LSU Board Chairman Scott Ballard and Labbé have not yet responded to questions as to the status of Sloan’s termination, why the board has not followed its bylaws for previous firings and contract approvals. John Carmouche, who chairs the board’s athletics subcommittee, also did not respond immediately to a call requesting comment. 

The current iteration of the board has been more interested in directly managing the university’s operations than previous ones. 

Following his inauguration in 2024, Landry, a staunch conservative Republican, appointed new members to join appointees of former Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, several of whom had swapped their allegiances to Landry. 

Among the first moves of the Landry-aligned board was to give itself the power to appoint members to any hiring search committee. Taken to its extreme, the new rule would allow the chair to stack any search panel, from a new professor to a football coach, and steer it to a preferred outcome.

The board later rolled back this new power to only apply to searches for high-level administrators, such as the president, chancellor, vice presidents and deans. Though Ballard no longer had the power to force members onto the search committee for Kelly’s replacement, he and Carmouche were appointed to the coaching search committee. 

Board members have also independently sought to influence hirings and firings throughout the system. 

Most notably, Esperanza Moran openly rallied to oust LSU Health Shreveport Chancellor David Guzick, who later resigned. 

Vice Chairman Lee Mallett made an early endorsement of Rousse just days after President William Tate announced his departure from LSU. Mallett’s support was key in influencing Rousse’s hiring.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: [email protected].