LSU coaching search: Board chair Scott Ballard reveals how much influence new school president will have on hire

Former University of Arizona President Robert Robbins, University of Alabama Executive Vice President James T. Dalton and McNeese State University President Wade Rousse are the three finalists to be named the next President of Louisiana State University.

Whether it’s Robbins, Dalton or Rousse, Board chair Scott Ballard revealed that the new President will have input on helping find a new head football coaching during a press conference on Friday morning.

“The new President will be announced on Tuesday,” Ballard said. “We’re not slowing down for that. (Interim AD) Verge (Ausberry) is going to move forward and knows what he needs to do. Depending on how that works out and when the new president starts, the new president will absolutely have input. Hopefully we’ll hit the ground running, but depending on what the choice is, we’ll also respect that they’ve got to unwind some stuff as well.”

After parting ways with head coach Brian Kelly last Sunday afternoon, LSU became (what many assumed was) the best head coaching job on the market. However, Kelly’s firing set off a chain reaction of turmoil within the program. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry got involved in the coaching search and barred Athletic Director Scott Woodward from leading yet another coaching search. This led to Woodward and the University parting ways, leaving a vacancy for the President, football head coach and athletic director.

Verge Ausberry delivered state of the program speech on Friday

Interim AD Verge Ausberry however seemingly cooled things down during the press conference. Ausberry, who has been with the program for 24 years, delivered a state of the program address to kick things off.

“I want to let our fanbase know one thing,” Ausberry said. “LSU is not broken. The LSU athletic department is not broken. I think we have the best athletic department in the country. I think we have the best staff in the country. The executives are second to none and I’d put them up against anyone. They’re the best and they will get the job done.”

“Our coaches are second to none. We are the best,” Ausberry continued. “We have championship coaches here. I’ve been blessed to work with championship coaches Kim Mulkey, Jay Clark, Jay Johnson, Dennis Shaver, Garrett Runion. They’re great coaches and we have many other great coaches that win championships. That’s what we expect here. We’re LSU. This place is not broken. The athletic department is not broken. We win.”

As the program searches for its next head coach, it will take everyone to ensure that it doesn’t end like the Brian Kelly saga. This includes their new president, whom will be revealed on Tuesday.