“Do you want this to be that ugly?”: Rece Davis & Pete Thamel rip LSU for escalating Brian Kelly buyout battle

Brian Kelly was fired as the LSU Tigers coach after their disappointing 49-25 loss to Texas A&M last month. However, on Monday, new details emerged on the situation, claiming that the program never "officially terminated" him, but are now looking to fire him "for cause". This step was taken to avoid paying the hefty $53 million buyout.

After Brian Kelly's team filed a legal suit to recoup the $54 million, ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis and CFB insider Pete Thamel have heavily criticized the LSU Tigers for this drama-filled situation. They believe that they should close this chapter with Kelly by paying him what they owe him and turn over a new leaf altogether.

"I just don't think this is the way to go about this," Davis said (Timestamp-29:15). "Because this is one of those things you want to go away. Once you make the decision, make it go away. And instead, you think he's just going to walk away and leave this money on the table without fighting back? "You know him. And it's like, I just think this is one of those things that you need to make go away. Pay him his money, come to an agreement, do something and move on. ... Do you really want this to be that ugly?"

Pete Thamel also shared the same stance as Rece Davis.

"In the long history of schools trying to weasel out of contracts they signed- and that's what this is, it's a straight weaseling," Davis said. "They didn't give a seven-day notice. ... If they wanted to fire him for cause, they messed it up in every possible way."

The Tigers had a disappointing 5-3 record this season before they fired Brian Kelly. Frank Wilson was named as the interim coach until they find a suitable replacement. In his debut on Saturday, they suffered a humiliating 28-9 loss at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

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What was Brian Kelly's record with the LSU Tigers?

The Tigers hired Brian Kelly from Notre Dame in November 2021. During his debut campaign in 2022, he led them to an SEC championship game. However, they lost to the Georgia Bulldogs and finished with a 10-4 record and a Citrus Bowl victory over Purdue.

That was the only year that the LSU Tigers competed for the SEC title and a spot in the playoffs. A year later, Kelly finished with a 10-3 record and a ReliaQuest Bowl victory. Last season, the Tigers put up a 9-4 record and a Texas Bowl victory over the Baylor Bears.

This started raising questions about Kelly's future with the program. His four-year stint ended with a 34-14 record. The last time the Tigers won a national championship was during the 2019 season under ex-coach Ed Oregon.

Edited by Priyam Hazarika