Gov. Jeff Landry says LSU athletic director Scott Woodward isn’t picking next football coach
Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward will not be selecting a head football coach to replace Brian Kelly.
“No. I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” he said in response to a question at a press conference. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select him before I let him do it.”
When asked who would be picking the coach, Landry replied, “The Board of Supervisors is gonna come up with a committee, and they’re gonna go find us a coach.”
The governor appoints members of the board.
Woodward and LSU spokesman Zach Greenwell did not immediately return a request for comment.
Landry blasted a college athletics system in which he says influential sports agents engineer excessively large deals for coaches.
“This is ridiculous. Lawyers would be disbarred for the way these agents act,” he said. “It’s really time for the NCAA to put on some guardrails on college sports.”
“If big billionaires want to spent all that kind of money, no problem,” he said. “But if I gotta go find $53 million…it’s not gonna be a pleasant conversation.”
Negotiations with Kelly are still underway, but sources say his buyout will be paid by private sources.
Landry confirmed Wednesday that he was involved in discussions about the coaching change.
“My role is about the fiscal effect of firing a coach under a terrible contract,” Landry said. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for.”
Landry confirmed he hosted a meeting at the Governor’s mansion on Sunday, the night Kelly was fired, but said the meeting was not about whether Kelly would be pushed out.
“No, I hosted a meeting at the governor’s mansion to talk about the legalities, to talk about the cost, to talk about who pays for it, to talk about ‘what’s the effect of it,'” he said. “It was a meeting to discuss the legalities of the contract.”
This is a developing story. Staff writer Wilson Alexander contributed to this story.
