James Carville promises to burn LSU diplomas, threatens legal action over Jeff Landry's comments on Scott Woodward

Well-known political consultant James Carville is a proud LSU alum. In fact, during his occasional TV hits on CNN or FOX News, where anchors pepper the longtime pundit about the day’s political news, it’s not unusual to find him sporting Tigers gear, be it a well-worn ballcap or a tattered hoodie.

But after his alma mater dominated the college football news cycle this week following fourth-year LSU head football coach Brian Kelly‘s firing Sunday, thanks in large part to the much-publicized involvement of first-term Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, Carville is furious and ready to go to war for his university.

Landry made waves this week after inserting himself into LSU’s decision to part ways with Kelly following Saturday night’s 49-25 home loss to Texas A&M, and even held a viral press conference Wednesday declaring LSU athletic director Scott Woodward would not lead the search for Kelly’s replacement. The next day, Woodward was fired Thursday after seven years leading his alma mater’s athletic department.

James Carville: ‘The reputational damage that’s been done to our university is incalculable’

During a Friday appearance on the Tony Kornheiser Show, the 81-year-old Carville made it clear he wasn’t happy with what’s happened at LSU, and even suggested he’s already pursuing potential legal recourse against Landry for what he described as libelous language from his home state’s Republican governor.

“I plan on burning all of my LSU gear, both of my diplomas and both of my daughters’ diplomas,” Carville said Friday on the Tony Kornheiser Show. “And I believe, and this is my own personal belief, but I’ve engaged the services of Williams and Connolly (because) I think that the governor (Landry) libeled our athletic director (Woodward) when he erroneously talked about Jimbo Fisher‘s buyout at Texas A&M. And I believe that we have a case for actual malice. … If we can get to discovery, I think that we can prove that. The reputational damage that’s been done to our university is incalculable, … and I’m not going to be passive in this struggle, at all.”

During his Wednesday press conference in Baton Rouge, the state capitol, Landry called out Woodward for what he described as a pattern and appeared to imply Woodward had a hand in former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher’s record $77 million buyout figure. Of course, Woodward was already at LSU when Fisher signed his $96 million extension with the Aggies in 2021 that included the hefty buyout figure.

James Carville blasts LSU board, Jeff Landry: ‘Who the f*** coach is going to come here?’

Amid the flurry of news Thursday, Carville spoke with Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger and questioned, “Who the f*** coach is going to come here?!” after Landry’s actions raised serious questions about who’s really in charge at LSU.

“The reputation of our university has been damaged,” Carville told Yahoo! Sports. “This board and governor have damaged LSU way beyond athletics. Who the f*** coach is going to come here?!”

Landry was involved in discussions about Kelly’s future on Sunday as LSU evaluated his future, On3’s Pete Nakos reported. It’s important to note LSU does not have a full-time university president at the moment, and a vote is set for next week.

— On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.