Why Louisiana governor claims he will not allow LSU AD Scott Woodward to hire Brian Kelly replacement

One of the biggest vacancies in the 2025 college football coaching carousel is at LSU, which fired head coach Brian Kelly on Sunday evening. 

Kelly, who was in the middle of his fourth season in Baton Rouge, is owed a hefty $53 million buyout from the school. Kelly signed a 10-year, $95 million contract with LSU when he was hired in December 2021. 

He was hired by current LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, who has been at the school since 2019. Woodward has come under fire recently in public comments by none other than Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. Thanks to LSU not having a current school president, the governor has appeared to be taking a more active role in the school's decisions.

Here's everything you need to know about what Landry said about Woodward and how both pieces fit into LSU's coaching search.

MORE: What will life after LSU look like for Brian Kelly?

What did Louisiana governor say about LSU AD Scott Woodward?

During a press conference on Wednesday, Landry was asked about the next LSU head coach's contract. He was also asked if Woodward would be involved in the search for Kelly's replacement. 

"The first question is absolutely correct," Landry said. "We are not going down a forward path. And I wanna tell you something, this is a pattern, The guy [Woodward] that's here now that wrote that contract? Cost Texas A&M $70-something million dollars. Right now we got a $53 million liability. We are not doing that again. And you know what? I believe that we're going to find a great coach. 

"Maybe we'll let President Trump pick it, 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 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 on the foot—to foot the bill." 

Landry was then asked if Woodward was going to be the one selecting LSU's next head coach.

"No, I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach. Hell, I'll let Donald Trump select the next head coach before i let him do it."

Landry was then asked who will be picking the coach.

"I don't know, but the board of supervisors are going to come up with a committee and they're going to find us a coach."

Here's video of the full exchange: 

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry saying Scott Woodward will not be making next hire https://t.co/d2eanxXr9l pic.twitter.com/P6JqNO3Iyh

— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) October 29, 2025— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 29, 2025

Landry then went on a long rant about college football coaches' agents. Several big-name coaches are represented by Jimmy Sexton, who has clients such as Ole Miss Lane Kiffin, Georgia's Kirby Smart, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer and others.  

On Thursday, Landry appeared on the Pat McAfee show, and clarified that him personally will not be selecting LSU's next head coach: 

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 30, 2025

MORE: Where will LSU turn to hire its next coach?

Who is LSU’s athletic director?

LSU's current athletic director is Scott Woodward. Woodward, who graduated from LSU in 1985, was hired by his alma mater in April 2019. He previously held the same position at Texas A&M from 2016–2019 and at Washington from 2008–2015.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Woodward isn't expected to be LSU's athletic director for much longer. Woodward and the Tigers are expected to separate in the near future.

Scott Woodward controversial hires

Woodward has come under fire in recent days due to the hires he has made in the past. For starters, he was the one who initially hired Jimbo Fisher from Florida State to Texas A&M. Fisher finished 45-25 over six seasons with the Aggies, and Texas A&M never made the College Football Playoff or SEC title game.

Fisher was given a historic $77 million buyout upon his firing in November 2023. While Woodward did hire Fisher initially, it was former Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork who signed off on Fisher's 2021 extension. That extension raised his annual salary to just over $9 million and extended him through 2030. That was a pay increase from his initial $7.5 million annual salary with the school. So while Woodward obviously gets blamed for hiring Fisher at A&M initially, you can't blame him entirely for how big his buyout was, as easy as it may seem to do.

But Woodward has hired some successful coaches, too. He's responsible for hiring Chris Petersen at Washington, getting Kim Mulkey to LSU from Baylor, as well as former Aggies men's basketball head coach Buzz Williams.

Woodward's most recent miss came in the hiring of Kelly, who came over from Notre Dame. The biggest thing that stood out was how far from a culture fit Kelly was in Baton Rouge—the Massachusetts native spent virtually his entire head coaching career in the Northeast or Midwest. Of course, there was the whole fake-accent "fah-muly" gaffe at the start of his tenure as well.

While Kelly won big at both Notre Dame and Cincinnati, there were major questions about his ability to recruit and win at a high level in a brand-new conference like the SEC. Kelly defeated Nick Saban and Alabama in 2022 and brought the Tigers to an SEC title game that season. But LSU lost 50-30 to Georgia in that game and failed to make the SEC title game or playoff in each of Kelly's next three seasons.

He became the first LSU head coach since 2006 to not win an SEC or national title in his first four years, as each of his predecessors did under Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron. He finished 34-14 as the Tigers' head coach.

MORE: Is Clemson or LSU the rightful Death Valley?

Why is the Louisiana governor involved in LSU coaching search?

As hilarious as that question may seem, it is an actual reality at the moment. As Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger described earlier this week "it's the most Louisiana thing ever." As Dellenger reported, the decision to move on from Kelly stemmed from a meeting at the governor's mansion. The writing was on the wall—Landry even tweeted this after LSU got steamrolled 49-25 on Saturday night at home vs. Texas A&M:

I think @LSUsports and the LSU Board of Supervisors needs to rethink their actions to raise ticket prices for next year after tonight’s showing!

— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) October 26, 2025

Dellenger adds that Landry appointed six of LSU's Board of Supervisors, consisting of 14 members. The board will reportedly help lead the charge on picking LSU's next head coach. 

MORE: College football picks, predictions against the spread for Week 10 matchups

Is the Louisiana governor a Republican or Democrat?

Who is LSU’s president?

A massive reason for Landry's involvement in the process is the fact that LSU does not currently have a sitting president. William Tate, who was LSU's school president from 2021–2025, left this May to accept the job as Rutgers' school president.

LSU's search for a new school president has been ongoing. Earlier this month, six candidates were asked to apply for the position. On Wednesday, LSU announced that the search had been narrowed down to three finalists, including Robert Robbins, Wade Rousse and James Dalton.