The 2025 LSU football season has quickly turned into a disaster. The Tigers are 5-3, but they fired Brian Kelly after they were blown out at home against Texas A&M. The Tigers paid out a massive buyout for Brian Kelly, which has led to some speculation as to whether the athletic director, Scott Wooward, will have much say in who the Tigers hire next.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry held a press conference on Wednesday and told the media that Woodward would not hire the next coach at LSU. Instead, Landry said the university’s Board of Supervisors would put a committee together to help find Brian Kelly’s replacement. The biggest reason he would not hire the next coach is the amount of money owed to Brian Kelly.
“No. I can tell you, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach right now,” 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 will devise a committee and find us a coach.”
Landry criticized Woodward even more and discussed the amount of money Jimbo Fisher owed after the Aggies fired him.
“We are not going down a failed path,” Landry said. “I want to tell you something. This is a pattern. The guy here now wrote that the 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 we’ll pick a coach and ensure that the coach is successful. 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.”
It is unusual for a governor to be involved in a football coaching decision. Still, one reason is that LSU does not have a university president right now, and it is the flagship university in Louisiana. Woodward was a key reason why Kelly was fired, but he will not have a role in the hiring.
