LSU athletic director Scott Woodward will not be hiring the Tigers\u2019 next football coach, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Landry, during a news conference regarding state-funded assistance for Louisianans amid the government shutdown, was asked by a reporter about his role in the firing of Brian Kelly and the hiring of LSU\u2019s next coach.<\/p>\n
When asked about Woodward, Landry emphasized that the athletic director, a position that traditionally hires coaches, would not make the decision this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,\u201d Landry said. \u201cHell, I\u2019ll let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Landry said LSU\u2019s board of supervisors would form a search committee to select the next coach.<\/p>\n
Landry also expressed frustration with the buyout LSU faces after firing Kelly on Sunday. Kelly\u2019s contract, a 10-year, $100 million deal that was signed in 2021, was 90 percent guaranteed. LSU could owe Kelly as much as $53 million, though Kelly has offset language that could mitigate the buyout if he takes another job.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going down a failed path,\u201d Landry said about the next LSU coach\u2019s contract. \u201cThis is a pattern that got us here. The guy (Woodward) that wrote that contract, cost Texas A&M $77 million. Right now, we\u2019ve got a $53 million liability. We are not doing that again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Woodward, while AD at Texas A&M, signed Jimbo Fisher to a 10-year, $75 million fully guaranteed contract in 2017. That deal was later extended by his successor at A&M, Ross Bjork, in 2021 to a 10-year agreement worth nearly $95 million and was also fully guaranteed. A&M fired Fisher in 2023 after three consecutive underwhelming seasons and roughly $77 million left on the extended contract.<\/p>\n
Woodward has a reputation of making splashy coaching hires throughout his career. At Washington, Woodward lured Chris Petersen \u2014 widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the country during his career \u2014 from Boise State in 2013. Petersen later took the Huskies to the College Football Playoff in 2016.<\/p>\n
At Texas A&M, Woodward hired Fisher in 2017 and Buzz Williams to coach men\u2019s basketball in 2019. Woodward, an LSU alumnus, made three major hires in 2021: hiring Kelly away from Notre Dame, Kim Mulkey to lead the women\u2019s basketball team and Jay Johnson to lead the baseball team. Johnson has taken the Tigers to two national championships since his arrival in Baton Rouge and Mulkey won one for the Tigers in 2023.<\/p>\n
LSU won the SEC West Division in 2022, Kelly\u2019s first year with the Tigers, and won 10 games in each of his first two seasons. But they went 9-4 last year and are 5-3 this season, having fallen out of the top 25 after reaching as high as No. 3 in the Associated Press poll. With Kelly\u2019s struggles of late and Fisher\u2019s decline at Texas A&M before their firings, critics have questioned Woodward\u2019s track record and the large guaranteed contracts he has awarded.<\/p>\n
Landry also said he would not be selecting LSU\u2019s next coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to be picking the next coach,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I can promise you that we\u2019re going to pick a coach, and we\u2019re going to make sure that that coach is successful. And we\u2019re going to make sure that he\u2019s compensated properly, and we\u2019re going to put metrics on it because I\u2019m tired of rewarding failure in this country and then leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Landry has been vocal about LSU football recently and has appeared to exert some influence over decision-making since LSU is currently led by an interim president. Former school president William Tate IV left earlier this year for Rutgers University and LSU tabbed Matt Lee as interim president.<\/p>\n
Late Saturday night, after the Tigers lost 49-25 at home to Texas A&M, Landry posted on X questioning the athletic department\u2019s decision to raise ticket prices amid poor on-field results.<\/p>\n
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