John Chavis case vs. LSU may hinge on Texas A&M start
BATON ROUGE, La. – It is third down and $400,000 to go for former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis, but the Tigers' legal team is blitzing.
Chavis, whose hiring at Texas A&M as defensive coordinator was not announced until Feb. 13 though he was pictured in A&M gear recruiting throughout January, filed a lawsuit in College Station, Texas, in Brazos County on Friday saying that he does not have to pay LSU the $400,000 that athletic director Joe Alleva is demanding because Chavis broke his contract that ran through Dec. 31.
Chavis' lawsuit says his official final day at LSU was Feb. 4 not Dec. 30, 2014, when his defense lost to Notre Dame, 31-28, in the Music City Bowl in Nashville on a last-minute drive and field goal as time expired. Chavis, who guided one of the top defenses in the Southeastern Conference and the nation during his time at LSU from 2009-14, maintains that on Jan. 5 he gave LSU notice 30 days before officially starting his job at A&M on Feb. 4, thus relieving him of the $400,000 buyout according to his contract.
"He could have been recruiting or working for Texas A&M for free at the time or as a consultant and remain free of the buyout so long as he was not on the school's payroll yet," said Baton Rouge attorney Jill Craft, who is not working on either side of the Chavis case but has years of experience in contract law. Craft sued LSU recently for wrongful termination of women's tennis coach Tony Minnis. The case was dismissed by a Baton Rouge judge, but Craft and Minnis recently filed an appeal.
New coaching hires in college football in December and January often begin recruiting immediately with their contracts being completed later.
Chavis did not go on Texas A&M's payroll, according to the Houston Chronicle, until Feb. 13, which is the date he was announced as the Aggies' new defensive coordinator along with other staff additions by head coach Kevin Sumlin.
LSU quickly answered Chavis with a suit of its own later Friday in East Baton Rouge Parish, saying that Chavis confirmed in media reports on Jan. 1 that he had been hired by Texas A&M. Chavis' contract states that he is relieved of the buyout if he leaves during the last 11 months of his contract with the first day of that period being Feb. 1, 2015. So according to Chavis and his lawyer, he beat that by three days. According to LSU, he broke the contract too early and owes the $400,000.
"We expect him to comply," Alleva told the Baton Rouge Advocate in January. Alleva had no comment Friday.
"This is coach Chavis' way to move on with his life and coach the defense everybody at Texas A&M is fully expecting," Chavis' attorney, Bill Youngkin of Bryan/College Station, Texas, said to the Houston Chronicle on Friday.
Chavis did tell a Houston Chronicle reporter on Jan. 1 that he would be working at Texas A&M, but he did not say when he would be starting his future employment.
"Certainly, we've looked at Texas A&M and the things that are happening here, and there's a great opportunity to win and win big," Chavis said on Jan. 1 to Houston Chronicle reporter Brent Zwerneman. "I'm excited to play with a great offense and certainly looking forward to helping the defense get better."
Chavis was pictured in various media outlets boarding an A&M plane on Jan. 1. Other pictures surfaced on Jan. 15 and Jan. 23 of Chavis wearing A&M gear on recruiting trips.
LSU's lawsuit against Chavis goes deeper as it says he breached his contract by communicating with Texas A&M about its opening without LSU's permission, which is done often by college coaches, but LSU says it is entitled to damages because its reputation was harmed by Chavis' conduct.
Should LSU not receive the buyout, LSU's lawsuit is asking for compensation for the negative impact on ticket sales and the loss of potential recruits because of the exit of Chavis, though he has not been known as a top recruiter. LSU also wants to be paid for expenses it paid to Chavis replacement Kevin Steele to move from the University of Alabama to LSU in addition to attorneys' fees LSU paid to negotiate Steele's contract.
LSU saved money in the Steele-for-Chavis swap, though, as Chavis was making $1.3 million in his last season at LSU and left because LSU would not pay him $1.7 million in a new contract. Steele will make $1 million a year for two seasons at LSU, according to his contract.
Chavis' lawsuit also names Texas A&M as a defendant in case it does not take care of the $400,000 buyout should LSU get what it wants. Chavis maintains A&M promised him it would take care of any of his monetary obligations to LSU over his contract.
LSU hopes to have Chavis' lawsuit dismissed, according to a statement released late Friday.
"LSU regrets that what is ordinarily a simple matter must be resolved in litigation, but it will vigorously defend the contractual and constitutional rights of our University," the statement released by LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette said.
Texas A&M recently paid $300,000 simply for a new grass football surface at Kyle Field.
Glenn Guilbeau writes for Gannett Louisiana.