Another powerhouse college football program whose high expectations have gone awry has decided to fire its coach — and dole out potentially north of $50 million to make him go away.

LSU has fired Brian Kelly midway through his fourth season after the Tigers, who harbored preseason ambitions of a deep College Football Playoff run, fell to 5-3, according to multiple reports. The university has not confirmed the firing.

The firing has turned what looked like perhaps an outlier event — firing a head coach despite the pain of a massive buyout — into a trend. Only two weeks after Penn State decided that reaching last season's playoff semifinal, let alone the deterrent of a nearly $50 million buyout, wasn't enough to keep it from firing coach James Franklin, LSU could be on the hook for around

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