BATON ROUGE — As LSU gets ready to find its new football coach after firing Brian Kelly on Sunday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry is weighing in on the upcoming search.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Landry said LSU athletic director Scott Woodward will not be involved in picking the next coach. “I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” he told reporters. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it.”
Instead of leaning on Woodward, Landry said LSU’s Board of Supervisors will create a committee to find a new coach.
“Maybe let President Trump pick it. He loves winners,” Landry said. “I can promise you, we’re going to pick a coach and we’re going to make sure that that coach is successful. 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.”
Since then, Governor Jeff Landry has posted to his social media page saying, “I want to reiterate I am not picking the next coach at LSU. As Governor, it is my responsibility to protect the hard-earned tax dollars our citizens pay to the state. Everyone recognizes the tremendous amount of money at stake—money that our citizens could be on the hook for. In the absence of an LSU President, protecting our taxpayers AND the university we all love was of vital importance. As a father, fan, and a citizen who cares about our players, I have complete faith in Coach Wilson and that he will rally the boys the rest of the season and make LSU and all of Louisiana proud. Geaux Tigers.”
“The spirit of the team needed a change”
Landry also spoke about Kelly’s departure, saying his role is about the fiscal effect of firing a coach under a “terrible” contract. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for,” he said. “I was also not happy with the fact that we were raising ticket prices while we were having a losing season and we were paying a coach $100 million and we were not getting the results.”
Under Kelly this season, LSU is 5-3 overall, 2-3 in SEC play, and out of the national rankings. During the team’s most recent loss to Texas A & M on Saturday, fans chanted “fire Kelly” inside Tiger Stadium.
Kelly is the winningest active coach in NCAA Football with 323 career victories. He amassed a 23-3 record in Tiger Stadium, including a 20-2 mark in night games in Death Valley. Kelly’s record at LSU stood at 34-14 overall.
“I have no animosity against Brian Kelly. I like Brian Kelly. I’d get dinner with him. But I think that it had gotten to the point, and I think they realized, that the spirit of the team needed a change. And so, that change was made. We’re going to move on,” he said.
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