Louisiana Governor Says LSU Athletic Director Will Not Choose Next Football Coach

LSU’s Board of Supervisors will convene a committee to make the next football coaching hire—and will not leave the decision up to athletic director Scott Woodward, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry told reporters Wednesday.

“Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” Landry, who was reportedly involved in the decision to fire LSU football coach Brian Kelly, told reporters during a press conference Wednesday. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it.”

The comments were made as  a fiery rant in which Landry attacked Woodward, focusing  specifically on his history of greenlighting football coaching contracts with major buyouts. 

Before Woodward came to LSU in 2019, he hired Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M for a 10-year, $75 million contract in 2017. Woodward was gone by the time Fisher signed a contract extension, but is often erroneously cited as the architect of the contract that awarded the biggest buyout in college football history: When the Aggies fired Fisher in 2023, they owed him more than $75 million with no offset or duty to mitigate clause. Kelly has about $53 million owed on his contract, but it includes  an offset and duty to mitigate clause, so LSU will likely pay him less than that. 

“We are not going down a failed path,” Landry said. “I want to tell you something: This is a pattern. The guy that’s here now that wrote that contract cost Texas A&M $70-something million. Right now we got a $53 million liability. … We are not doing that again.” 

Representatives for the LSU athletic department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Landry appears to be following in the footsteps of famous Louisiana Gov. Huey Long, who was known for his involvement in LSU football in the 1930s. 

Landry was involved in the decision to fire Kelly. He  held a meeting at the governor’s mansion to discuss the decision Sunday afternoon. He also tweeted his thoughts about LSU’s decision to raise ticket prices next year after the Tigers lost to Texas A&M. (Landry’s office did not respond to requests for comment explaining his role in Kelly’s firing earlier this week.)

On a procedural level, Landry’s involvement makes sense. He has taken on an outsized role at LSU in the absence of a permanent university president. Landry also appoints members to the LSU Board of Supervisors. 

Going forward, however, Landry said he is “not going to be picking the next coach.” But given his influence over the LSU Board of Supervisors, expect his voice to be heard.