Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry inserted himself directly into LSU’s post-Brian Kelly reset, declaring that athletic director Scott Woodward will not run the coaching search and that a Board of Supervisors committee will take the lead, a sharp public rebuke of the AD as the Tigers try to regain their footing.
Why would a governor get this involved, and why target Woodward now? In a state where LSU football is political currency, Landry’s fingerprints were on Sunday’s maneuvering from the start.
Hours after administrators began moving toward Kelly’s ouster, Landry convened board members, select administrators, and major boosters at the governor’s mansion to green-light the firing, and, per multiple accounts, he made clear he also wanted Woodward out. The animus is personal as much as institutional, with allies in Baton Rouge describing a governor who does not forget slights and an AD whose influence runs deep, as noticed by Yahoo Sports.
Woodward’s resume is both a case for and against him. He engineered splash hires at multiple stops, he signed Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher to mammoth guarantees, and he delivered instant titles in baseball and women’s basketball with Jay Johnson and Kim Mulkey.
He also fired men’s hoops coach Will Wade amid NCAA heat, a move Landry reportedly wanted reversed last spring, and his big-ticket football deal became the lightning rod once LSU slid.
Landry’s interventions have not been limited to football. He blasted Mulkey’s team over a national anthem misunderstanding that is routine across college hoops, and he pushed to parade a loaner tiger around Tiger Stadium despite LSU’s decision, on veterinary advice, to end that practice years ago.
Those theatrics, layered atop a long LSU versus Louisiana, Lafayette rivalry and ideological differences, have set the stage for this showdown.
Hovering over it all is the money. Kelly’s buyout remains unresolved. LSU has begun monthly payments of roughly 800,000 dollars while lawyers haggle over the full liability. The school’s own announcement kicked the financial specifics down the road, and Landry has openly suggested the dispute could end up in a Louisiana courtroom.
Until the buyout is settled and a search structure is finalized, the governor’s unusually hands-on posture, the AD’s future, and the next hire are all entwined in the same high-stakes, deeply political drama.
