LSU coaching search: Tim Tebow encourages Tigers to avoid 'pressure of the media and fanbase' for next hire

It’s been a tumultuous week for LSU. The school parted ways with head coach Brian Kelly on Sunday and then with athletic director Scott Woodward on Thursday.

Led by interim AD Verge Ausberry and its new president (who will be announced on Tuesday), the program will conduct its first nationwide coaching search since Kelly was hired prior to the 2022 season. Ahead of that search, former Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Tim Tebow offered some advice on picking the right coach on Friday’s edition of ‘The Paul Finebaum Show.’

Tebow urged LSU to make the ‘right hire’ instead of the ‘splashy hire,’ avoiding pressure from the media and fanbase to haul in a big name from the carousel. He used Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko as an example. Elko is a great coach, but he was not quite a household name at Duke. A&M brass bet on the ‘right hire,’ and it has paid off mightily for the program. Legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick, however, has been extremely underwhelming at North Carolina, although it was surely a ‘splashy hire.’

“It’s a lot to try and understand and evaluate,” Tebow said. “When you look at this job, all of this leads to more pressure they’re putting on themselves to find the next right coach. I think because of the pressure, it could very easily push them to try and get a splashy coach vs. the right coach. It’s so important, because of the media and everything that’s happening in sports right now, that we have to have a splash to splash. A splash doesn’t actually mean that you’re gonna be really good at your job. Mike Elko was not a splash and they’re one of the best teams in the country.”

“Everybody knew where he was coming from and that he was someone who was going to develop players, have a good defense and create a really strong team because that’s what he did at Duke. I would really encourage them to not let the pressure of the media and fanbase to persuade you to get a big hype coach. Get a right coach. Get a coach that fits. And if you’re LSU, get someone who fits your state, someone that fits your community and someone that makes sense. You should be able to say, man, when you put on that LSU shirt and hat, it feels right. It’s got to compel people in the state.”

High-profile names such as Ole Miss‘ Lane Kiffin, Notre Dame‘s Marcus Freeman, Georgia Tech‘s Brent Key, Louisville‘s Jeff Brohm and Tulane‘s Jon Sumrall have been floated as candidates for the job. It will be extremely interesting to see who LSU‘s search firm decides on.