Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry made it clear on Wednesday that he doesn’t want LSU athletic director Scott Woodward to be involved in the hiring of the Tigers’ next football coach.
Landry said during a press conference at the state capitol in Baton Rouge that he would let President Donald Trump make the hire before Woodward.
“No, I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting our next coach,” Landry told reporters.
LSU fired Brian Kelly on Sunday, eight games into his fourth season leading the program. He amassed a 34-14 record at LSU, with two 10-win seasons but no College Football Playoff appearances. The Tigers are 5-3 this season, but 2-3 in Southeastern Conference play.
Kelly’s firing snapped a streak of three straight LSU coaches winning a national title. He was fired less than halfway through his 10-year, $95 million contract he signed on Nov. 30, 2021, leaving LSU to pay a $54 million buyout that Woodward said in a statement would be negotiated to “work toward a path that is better for both parties.”
That buyout is the root of Landry’s frustration with Woodward, who also signed former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher to a 10-year, $75 million contract when he was the AD there. After an extension, Texas A&M owed Fisher more than $76 million — the largest buyout in college football history — when it fired him after Woodward had left for LSU.
“We are not going down a failed path. And I want to tell you something: This is a pattern,” Landry said. “The guy that’s here now that wrote that contract cost Texas A&M 70-some million dollars. Right now, we’ve got a $53 million liability. We are not doing that again. And you know what? I believe that we’re gonna find a great coach.”
While the AD normally leads coaching hires, Landry said LSU’s board of supervisors would put together a selection committee for the next football coaching hire.
“I’m not going to be picking the next coach, but I can promise you we’re gonna pick a coach and we’re gonna make sure that that coach is successful. We’re gonna make sure that he’s compensated properly, and we’re gonna put metrics on it because I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country and then leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill,” Landry said.
LSU likely has time on its side somewhat with the coaching search. If the Tigers are hiring a sitting head coach, they likely won’t be able to finalize that deal until the end of the regular season on Nov. 29.
