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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry states Scott Woodward is not picking next LSU head coach

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz3 hours agoNickSchultz_7
LSU Gov. Jeff Landry
© Michael Tortorich / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said LSU athletics director Scott Woodward is not selecting the next Tigers head coach. Landry said the university’s Board of Supervisors would put a committee together to help find Brian Kelly’s replacement.

LSU announced its decision to fire Kelly earlier this week, and the school is on the hook for a $53 million buyout. In a statement, Woodward previously said the two sides were working to negotiate the terms of the separation.

Landry addressed Woodward’s previous stop at Texas A&M, as well, where he gave Jimbo Fisher a lucrative contract that included what became the largest buyout in college football history. Fisher and Kelly’s buyouts combine to be nearly $130 million. In fact, Landry went so far as to say he’d led President Donald Trump hire the next coach before Woodward.

“No. I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” Landry said. “Hell, I would let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it. … I don’t know. But the Board of Supervisors is going to come up with a committee and they’re going to find us a coach.”

Jeff Landry: ‘We’ve got a $53 million liability’

Gov. Jeff Landry was involved in conversations about Kelly’s future at LSU as conversations took place over the weekend, sources told On3’s Pete Nakos. It’s important to note LSU does not currently have a university president

When asked about whether he’d make sure the next LSU coach’s contract is not “ridiculous,” Landry pointed to Woodward’s recent track record. He cited the more than $70 million buyout that Fisher received at Texas A&M and, after Kelly’s $53 million buyout, said he doesn’t want to see such terms in the future.

“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’ve got a $53 million liability. We are not doing that again. I believe that we’re going to find a great coach. Maybe we’ll let President Trump pick it. He loves winners.

“I’m not gonna be picking the next coach. But I can promise you, we’re going to pick a coach and we’re going to make sure that that coach is successful and we’re going to make sure that he’s compensated properly and we’re going to put metrics on it because I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country and then leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill.”