Explaining Brian Kelly’s firing as LSU football head football coach
LSU fires football coach Brian Kelly amidst his fourth season with the Tigers. Breaking down how things quickly deteriorated between the two sides.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry says it’s more likely Donald Trump will hire the next LSU coach than the school’s athletic director.Governor publicly humiliates LSU’s athletic director as coaching search begins.LSU is a good job, but does Lane Kiffin want do deal with the politics?
Lane Kiffin’s been called a clown more times than he can count. So, here’s my question: Is Kiffin ready to join LSU’s circus?
I mean, I guess if the rubber nose fits …
Here’s the latest from the P.T. Barnum bonanza down on the bayou: Gov. Jeff Landry called a news conference ostensibly to discuss state-funded food stamps during the ongoing federal government shutdown. About 20 minutes into the proceedings, Landry took his first question on LSU’s coaching search. He was only too happy to discuss it.
For the next 10 minutes, Landry led a public degradation of LSU athletic director Scott Woodward. He took a blow torch to Woodward’s career.
“I can tell you right now that Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” Landry said. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select him before I let (Woodward) do it.”
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry humiliates LSU AD Scott Woodward
That marked Landry’s second suggestion within a few minutes that the President of the United States would be better suited to hire LSU’s next football coach than the school’s sitting athletic director.
An LSU athletics spokesperson did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Top of mind for Landry is that Woodward previously hired two coaches who, upon their firing, became owed the largest buyouts in college football history.
Woodward hired Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M to a 10-year, fully guaranteed contract. Woodward’s successor, Ross Bjork, foolishly extended Fisher and increased his buyout. Fisher walked away with $77 million in failure money after Texas A&M fired him in 2023.
Two years later, Landry became involved in discussions to pull the cord on Brian Kelly, Woodward’s latest mistake. LSU owes Kelly a buyout of about $54 million. He has a duty to mitigate the damages with future employment.
“This is a pattern,” Landry said of Woodward. “… We’re not doing that again.”
With all eyes on the center ring, Landry kept the barbs coming.
“Maybe, we’ll let President Trump pick (the coach),” he said. “He loves winners, you know? I’m not going to be picking the next coach, but I can promise you, we’re going to pick a coach, and we’re going to make sure that that coach is successful, and 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.”
Governor considers LSU’s 5-3 record ‘a losing season’
A few points of clarification: Landry said LSU fired Kelly in the midst of “a losing season” that didn’t measure up to his $100 million contract. LSU is 5-3. Kelly went 34-14 on the job. He never had a losing season, but it speaks to LSU’s expectations and the job’s demands that the governor considers 5-3 a big fat loser.
Also, I’m curious about Landry’s idea that taxpayers will foot Kelly’s buyout. How’s that work? Typically, boosters and athletics revenue fund a coach’s failure money.
Landry also incorrectly asserted Fisher and Kelly have the same agent. They don’t.
As to who’s really going to hire the next coach, Landry says LSU’s board of supervisors (whom the governor appoints) will organize a committee to make the hire.
Where does that leave Woodward? Defrocked, but apparently still employed, although one must wonder for how much longer.
Coaches and athletics directors often talk about the paramountcy of alignment between a university president, the AD, the board and the coach.
Here’s LSU’s alignment: The school lacks a president. The interim has been on the job for several months. Its athletic director has been publicly humiliated. The board answers to the governor, who’s experiencing declining approval ratings, according to recent polling.
So, you say you want to be LSU’s football coach … good luck!
Kiffin’s become the dream candidate for many a fan base. At Mississippi, he enjoys a clean runway of authority. He’s the superstar and the monarch who rules the Ole Miss fiefdom. Industry norms would say LSU’s a better job than Ole Miss, so long as Kiffin’s up for wading through this entanglement of politics.
Is LSU football ready to become the face of fiscal responsibility?
Landry raised worthy points about the fiscal irresponsibility within college athletics. Athletic directors are notoriously terrible contract negotiators, and I wouldn’t trust some of them to hire a lawn service, let alone an SEC football coach.
Woodward’s hiring record shows a mixed bag. He hit home runs with women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey and baseball coach Jay Johnson, but his hires of Fisher and Kelly helped accelerate the stench of guaranteed contracts into the college football paradigm.
As to Landry’s detestation of fired coaches being awarded tens of millions in failure money, fans will nod in agreement. Athletics administrators blow through money like degenerates at 1 a.m. on the Las Vegas Strip.
But, will LSU fans keep up that energy of fiscal responsibility if they learn the Tigers missed out on their preferred coach because they went cheap?
If you’re a coach sniffing around LSU, I suspect fiscal responsibility is a concept you’d rather avoid in this era of pay-for-play and fully guaranteed contracts.
Also, a coach might like to know who the heck his boss will be. Will it be LSU’s disgraced athletic director? Must coaching applicants be a card-carrying member of Landry’s Grand Old Party or season-pass holders at MAGA World? Will the next coach be expected to answer the governor’s queries about the starting quarterback competition?
Landry previously took on the wildly popular and successful Mulkey because of her team’s routine to be in the locker room preparing for the game and not on the court for the national anthem. How’s that for limited government at work?
Landry landed some worthy punchlines about Woodward’s gaffes. His news conference was incredible theater, but so is a circus. So, who’s the clown ready to join this show?
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.