In the college football world, firing a coach tends to come with a steep cost. Buyouts play a major role in a school's decision-making process when contemplating making a coaching change. In fact, buyouts existing tends to be the biggest reason schools hang on to coaches longer than they probably should. In other words, they are too expensive to fire.
In what seemed like a move of "when" not "if," Florida decided to fire head coach Billy Napier on Sunday afternoon after 3.5 seasons. Napier was on the proverbial hot seat for over a year, and a Week 2 loss to South Florida to go along with a 3-4 start in Year 4 was too much to overcome and keep his job. But what was his buyout and how does it compare to Brian Kelly's?
Billy Napier's buyout is nothing compared to Brian Kelly's
Napier still had several years remaining on his contract at Florida, with his deal set to run up until 2029. With the decision to fire him, Florida now has to pay him 85% of the remaining value on his contract, which equates to just north of $20 million. That is a large sum, but it's more manageable than some other contract buyouts out there. For comparison, James Franklin's buyout at Penn State was approximately $45 million.
But Brian Kelly's buyout is a whole different ball game. Kelly inked a 10-year contract with LSU back in 2021 that takes him through 2031. Now in the fourth season of his deal, Kelly's buyout at this point in time would be approximately $53 million if he is dismissed without cause. The total cost in the end would be even higher, as LSU would have to hire a new coach along with a new set of assistants and coordinators.
Ed Orgeron, Les Miles, and Nick Saban all had National Championships by the end of their 4th seasons in Baton Rouge. Kelly is now in Year 4, and already has two losses this season with a gauntlet of remaining schedule to go. The Tigers have yet to appear in the College Football Playoff with Kelly at the helm, and fans are reaching a boiling point.
The fact of the matter is that right now, Kelly might fall into that "too expensive to fire" category. The situation would look a lot different if his buyout was in the $20-$30 million range like Napier's. But buying out Kelly for more than $50 million would be tough to cough up.