La. Gov.: LSU AD won’t select new football coach
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Mark Schlabach
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry told reporters Wednesday that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward won’t be involved in selecting the Tigers‘ new football coach, saying he’d let President Donald Trump do it before Woodward.
The Tigers fired Brian Kelly on Sunday, a day after his team lost 49-25 to Texas A&M at home to drop to 5-3.
Kelly, 64, had a 34-14 record in four seasons at LSU, winning just under 71% of his games. The Tigers have lost three of their past four games after climbing to No. 3 in the AP poll earlier this season.
“No, I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting our next coach,” Landry told reporters during a news conference at the state capitol in Baton Rouge.
Landry said the LSU Board of Supervisors will assemble a selection committee to find a new coach, but Woodward won’t be a part of it if the governor has his way.
“Maybe we’ll let President Trump pick it,” Landry said. “He loves winners. You know, I’m not going to be picking the next coach, but I can promise you we’re gonna pick a coach and we’re gonna make sure that that coach is successful. We’re gonna make sure that he’s compensated properly, and we’re gonna put metrics on it because I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country and then leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill.”
Landry criticized Woodward for agreeing to a 10-year, $95 million contract with Kelly that included incentives and which left LSU on the hook for a $54 million buyout under the terms of the deal.
In a statement Monday, Woodward said the school would “continue to negotiate his separation and will work toward a path that is better for both parties.”
Landry also criticized Woodward for agreeing to a similar one-sided coaching contract when he was Texas A&M’s athletic director. The Aggies owed football coach Jimbo Fisher more than $76 million when they fired him in November 2023, which was nearly triple the highest-known coaching contract buyout at a public school at the time.
However, it was Ross Bjork, who succeeded Woodward at Texas A&M in 2019, who gave Fisher a four-year extension just before the 2021 season that made his 10-year deal worth more than $90 million. Woodward originally gave Fisher a 10-year, $75 million contract when he was hired away from Florida State.
“We are not going down a failed path. And I want to tell you something: This is a pattern,” Landry told reporters. “The guy that’s here now that wrote that contract cost Texas A&M 70-some million dollars. Right now, we’ve got a $53 million liability. We are not doing that again. And you know what? I believe that we’re gonna find a great coach.”
Landry acknowledged that he met with LSU officials at the governor’s mansion Sunday night to discuss the legalities of firing Kelly and who was going to pay his hefty buyout.
“My role is about the fiscal effect of firing a coach under a terrible contract, OK?” Landry said. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook [for]. 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.
“Now, look, I have no animus against Brian Kelly. I don’t dislike Brian Kelly. But I think that it had gotten to the point, and I think they realized that the spirit of the team needed a change.”
An LSU official didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Jake Trotter
Ryan Day said he “had an inkling” Ohio State‘s headsets might go down during Saturday’s game at Michigan — so the Buckeyes coach had a backup communication plan already in place.
Ohio State lost the ability to communicate over the headsets during the second half of its 27-9 win over the Wolverines.
The Buckeyes had quarterback Julian Sayin come to the sideline between plays and get the calls directly from Day before going back to the huddle, until the problem was fixed later in the half.
“I was just getting us through it until we got the headsets up and running, which took a little while to get done,” Day said Tuesday. “But yeah, just by chance we had planned for it, and so we were ready to go.”
Day was then asked why he had the inkling.
“You just got to be ready for anything,” Day said. “When you go into any big game, you’re always trying to put contingency plans in place for anything that could possibly happen.”
Sayin said, after the game, that running to the sideline before each play reminded him of playing in high school. Day said he met with his assistant coaches Friday to go through the contingency plan.
“I think some of the guys on the staff were looking at me sideways,” Day said, “like, ‘Why would you think that would happen?’ I said, ‘I just don’t know. We just got to be ready for anything.’ It’s funny how your mind works.”
Day then winked, drawing several laughs.
Michigan, however, did not find Day’s implication humorous, denying any involvement in the Buckeyes’ communication issue in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“We do not manage their communication system. Each athletic department provides electrical power and fiber lines that are equal on both sidelines. Ohio State has staff within its athletic department that handles coach-to-player communication and the coach-to-coach headset system. The coach-to-player communication system is run by a third party chosen by the Big Ten. A neutral technician is on the sidelines to assist both teams at every game across the conference,” the statement read.
“With any cellular-based communication system, there are technical issues that happen from time to time in stadiums across the country. We don’t want the opponent to have issues because our team would have to take our communication system down as well. No one benefits from a system failure.
“In this instance, our game event manager, stadium supervisor, an electrician and staff immediately jumped in to assist with the issue on Saturday. The issue was resolved before anything needed to be taken offline.”
In August, the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions penalized Michigan after investigating the school for stealing signs through advance scouting. The NCAA fined the Wolverines at least $30 million, imposed recruiting restrictions and suspended coach Sherrone Moore three games, including next season’s opener, noting it had “overwhelming” and concerning evidence of a cover-up by Michigan staff. The NCAA committee also levied an eight-year show-cause penalty for former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions and a 10-year show-cause for former coach Jim Harbaugh, now coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
The top-ranked Buckeyes will face No. 2 Indiana in Indianapolis on Saturday, with the College Football Playoff’s top overall seed on the line.
Day said his team had already put the Michigan win in the past and is “locked in” on winning the Big Ten title.
“This is going to be an electric atmosphere,” he said. “It’s a great opponent. This is a very important game for us. We got to go play our best.”
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Dave Wilson
Amid a historic season at Texas Tech, the school announced on Tuesday that it has agreed on a new seven-year contract with coach Joey McGuire.
Sources confirmed to ESPN’s Pete Thamel that the new deal averages nearly $7 million per year. The school said it also includes incentives for future Big 12 and postseason success.
Under McGuire, the Red Raiders are No. 5 in the College Football Playoff ranking, having completed an 11-1 regular season with each win coming by at least 20 points. Texas Tech is making its first Big 12 championship appearance against BYU on Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
“We believe the future of Texas Tech Football has never been brighter under Coach McGuire’s leadership,” athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a statement. “Our success this season is not a one-year plan. We fully intend to be an annual contender in the Big 12 Conference with our eyes on the College Football Playoff each and every season. We have the right leader in Coach McGuire to keep elevating this program, and this contract extension is a reflection of our investment in sustaining this success for years to come.”
McGuire is 34-17 in four years in Lubbock, tied for the most wins by a Texas Tech coach through that span since Jim Carlen from 1970 to 1973.
“I couldn’t be more thankful for Kirby Hocutt and our administration for the belief in this football program,” McGuire said in a statement. “I’ve said it countless times but my family and I love Lubbock, this university and this fan base. We expect to continue to elevate this program where appearances in the Big 12 title game, like this Saturday, and the College Football Playoff are expected on an annual basis.”
Yahoo Sports first reported terms of McGuire’s extension.
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Andrea Adelson
Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert has signed a long-term contract extension to stay with the Demon Deacons after an 8-4 season, the school announced Tuesday.
In his first year with the school, Dickert led Wake Forest to bowl eligibility for the first time since 2022, exceeding outside expectations. Wake Forest was picked to finish 16th out of 17 teams in the preseason ACC media poll.
Dickert said in a statement that Wake Forest will “further invest” in football.
“This commitment ensures that our staff has the stability, resources and support necessary to continue elevating Wake Forest football,” Dickert said. “I’m proud of this team, our staff and our seniors who built the foundation for this new era, and excited for what’s ahead.”
Wake Forest had two Top-25 wins this year over Virginia and SMU, snapping the Mustangs’ 20-game regular-season conference winning streak.
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