Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
Louisiana’s political climate has been a national punchline for decades.
That’s not new.
Governor Jeff Landry’s press conference Wednesday provided another opportunity for the rest of the country to point and chuckle. This time it was the sports crowd that got to cackle at little ol’ Louisiana as its governor confidently misspoke in falsehoods and half-truths time and time again about LSU’s athletic director, Scott Woodward.
“Let me tell you something,” Landry started assuredly. “The guy that’s here now (Woodward) that wrote that contract cost Texas A&M $70-something million dollars. Right now, (LSU’s) got a $53 million dollar liability.”
Saying something doesn’t make it true.
Woodward was responsible for hiring Fisher at Texas A&M. He inked the national championship coach to a fully guaranteed 10-year, $75 million dollar deal in 2017. After three seasons, Fisher’s contract was extended back to 10 years and remained fully guaranteed by A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork while Woodward was in Baton Rouge working for LSU. That extension doubled Fisher’s buyout from $45.6 million to $95.6 million, and when Fisher was fired in 2023, he was owed “$70-something million”.
Landry continued to botch the facts.
“I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country and then leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill,” he declared.
Brian Kelly leaves Baton Rouge a rich man. The Louisiana taxpayer is not “footing the bill.” Almost 100% of those buyout dollars come from the private money of LSU boosters at their discretion.
Not only did Landry fail to fully grasp the cause of the buyouts, but he air-balled on the source of the money used to fund them. Undeterred, he also gave the assembled media a task.
“Here’s what y’all reporters need to do,” he instructed. “Y’all need to start looking at who represents all these people, like these agents. If I’m not mistaken, Woodward’s agent, Kelly’s agent, the Texas A&M…they’re all the same agent…This is ridiculous.”
You are mistaken, Mr. Governor.
Brian Kelly’s agent is Trace Armstrong. Jimbo Fisher’s agent is Jimmy Sexton.
Statement after statement, the governor displayed a fundamental misunderstanding of the process he was so confidently going to correct at LSU. To fix a problem, it helps to understand it.
LSU is now entering the recruiting phase of the new coach, and that coach will work for an athletic director – likely Woodward’s successor after Wednesday. That coach will have to take the job with the understanding that his boss could be eviscerated on X (formerly Twitter) after a loss or at a press conference about youth nutrition by a governor who appears to not have a clue how finances in collegiate athletics are handled.
“I believe that we’re going to find a great coach,” he said. “Maybe we’re going to let President Trump pick the coach. He loves winners. I’m not going to be picking the next coach. But I can promise you that we’re going to pick a coach, and we’re going to make sure that that coach is successful.”
If one thing is “sure” in college football, it’s that no hire is “for sure.”
Kelly is headed to the College Football Hall of Fame one day. He won more games than any coach in Notre Dame’s history and was the leader among active FBS coaches when he was fired.
Woodward has done some great things at LSU. Everyone is aware of the national titles in women’s basketball, baseball and gymnastics. He also missed on a football hire, and that can cost an athletic director a job.
It just didn’t need to be done so publicly, brazenly and ignorantly.
I’d say, “Welcome to Louisiana,” but I’ll save that for the next football coach, assuming one will show up.
The governor appoints the Board of Supervisors and claims they’ll start the process of hiring the next coach, assuming President Trump isn’t actually asked to do it. Trump was mentioned twice in three minutes’ worth of answers.
“The Board of Supervisors is going to come up with a committee, and they’re going to find us a coach,” Landry said.
Generally, an athletic director hires a coach and then aids him in running the program. That relationship is vital in many cases. Should a committee hire a coach before hiring an athletic director, that coach won’t know who he will eventually report to on LSU’s campus. That makes LSU less attractive in a pool that has openings at Penn State and Florida with Florida State and Auburn primed to jump in.
There are many intricacies to this process. Wednesday, it became evident Landry would have his fingerprints all over it.
I hope he understands.
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