The 2025 LSU football season quickly turned into a disaster. The Tigers are 5-3, but fired Brian Kelly after Texas A&M blew them out in Baton Rouge, 49-25. The firing was chaotic due to the money involved and because LSU does not have a sitting president. Instead of the president, the Louisiana governor, Jeff Landry, had a significant say in determining what would happen with Brian Kelly.
On the most recent episode of “The Triple Option,” Urban Meyer asked how it works with LSU since it appears Jeff Landry had a hand in letting go of Brian Kelly. Meyer also asked if he was involved; does it mean he will face the consequences if the next hire doesn't work out?
Meyer elaborated on the coaching world he grew up in by saying, “The world I grew up in, whenever you decide to hire you, and then they hold you to that plan. And so, in the world that I grew up in, whenever you make a decision, you're held accountable for that decision. So here's the question for you. If this did, and once again, if the governor had a hand in firing the head football coach of an SEC school that won 70% of his games, went ten and three, ten and four, nine and four, and five and three, and he did. Does he get fired if the next hire doesn't work out?”
State governors' involvement in college football coaching decisions is an entirely new factor in college football coaching, and Urban Meyer is openly questioning his role in the decision-making process.
Meyer elaborated even more: “Are the streets safe in New Orleans? Is the infrastructure set? I imagine there’s a lot on his plate, and now it’s hiring and firing coaches at their state institution.”
This is unprecedented in college football, and Meyer reached out to a friend he knows in Republican circles, who confirmed it was true. Meyer clarified that it's alarming if Landry had any say in what LSU did with Brian Kelly.
It is worth noting that Kelly had a massive buyout, but LSU mitigated that down to just over $30 million due to a “morals clause.” The question is how involved Landry will be in LSU's hiring of a new head coach.
