Wetzel: Louisiana Gov. made finding next LSU coach harder

LSU currently does not have a president, an athletic director or a head football coach.

Louisiana does have a governor, Jeff Landry, who essentially fired the latter two and, having apparently solved all the issues facing the people of his state, is spending his time lording over the athletic department.

That’s a task that always seems easy, whether from an internet message board or a Tiger Stadium bleacher.

Landry initially said the job of hiring a new coach would fall to a subcommittee set up by the school’s 17-member Board of Supervisors. After days of criticism, interim athletic director Verge Ausberry said Friday that a search committee was set up but that he had been given full authority to hire «the best football coach there is.»

Well, unless Landry empowers President Trump to make the selection.

«He loves winners, you know?» Landry said back on Wednesday.

Landry was joking. We think. Really, who can tell? After all, having a sitting president with no actual ties to a university selecting the football coach makes about as much sense as choosing one via bureaucratic committee.

(Who would Trump choose? Tommy Tuberville? Herschel Walker? Another job for Marco Rubio?)

«Total clown show,» said one rival SEC athletic director.

Even by the standards of the three-ring circus known as college football.

The question is whether the political involvement will hinder LSU from identifying the right athletic director/coach combination to lead the Tigers back to a national championship — or worse, scare the best candidates away.

This sport is tough enough without a meddlesome governor.

LSU dropped to 5-3 on Saturday via a humiliating loss to Texas A&M. It caused not just Landry, but many Tiger fans to lose complete faith in Brian Kelly, whom athletic director Scott Woodward hired away from Notre Dame 3 1/2 seasons ago.

Kelly was just 34-14 (19-10 in SEC play) in Baton Rouge. The program’s three previous coaches all won national titles. Kelly didn’t even manage a playoff bid. So Landry orchestrated a Sunday firing, complete with a $54 million buyout for Kelly and his «fam-uh-lee» to go away.

Days later, at a press conference about food stamps and behind a sign that read «Protecting The Most Vulnerable,» he set his sights on humiliating, and essentially firing, Woodward for hiring Kelly in the first place.

«I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting our next coach,» Landry said.

Kelly’s 10-year, $100 million contract obviously broke bad for the school, but that sum was also about the standard going rate and was unanimously approved by … the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Woodward whiffed on Kelly, an odd fit who turned out uncomfortable in the quickly shifting NIL/transfer portal era. Although, to be fair, it wasn’t a complete disaster. Those three losses this season were to three Top 10 teams — 8-0 A&M, 7-1 Ole Miss and 7-1 Vanderbilt.

Woodward, it’s worth noting, is also responsible for hiring LSU’s baseball and women’s basketball coaches — both of whom have led the school to national titles. Women’s gymnastics has also won it all during Woodward’s tenure.

In previous AD jobs, Woodward hired Chris Petersen to revive the Washington football program and Jimbo Fisher to lead Texas A&M. Fisher eventually flamed out and was owed his own massive, $76 million buyout.

«This is a pattern,» Landry said of Woodward being responsible for big payouts.

The governor had the timing wrong, though. After some early success while Woodward was the AD in College Station, Fisher’s contract was actually renewed by Woodward’s successor. Landry also suggested that taxpayers were on the hook for Kelly’s golden parachute. That’ll be handled by private money.

But, hey, let’s not let the facts get in the way of things here.

None of this is to say Kelly or Woodward needed to stay in their jobs. It’s just that some tact was in order, if only for external perception. Nor was Landry all wrong about a few things — coaching contracts are out of control, too many ADs and coaches share agents, and most notably, LSU and its fans deserve a program that can win national titles.

Like most things in politics, there is just enough truth for almost any argument to work.

The problem for LSU is that this isn’t politics. It’s college sports. Passion fuels everything, but precision is what delivers.

If Landry thinks LSU is going to get Lane Kiffin to leave Ole Miss without a Kelly-esque contract (or bigger), then he doesn’t understand the business.

LSU has the resources, recruiting base and tradition to be considered a top-five job in the country. It is a special place, a coveted job. Hiring a coach, though, is a complicated dance. The best candidates have other great options — from Florida to Penn State to staying put. Recruitment is often done in secrecy, not via committee.

Ausberry, the executive deputy AD under Woodward, is part of the search group, along with select individuals from the Board of Supervisors and donors.

But are they really going to let an interim AD make a $100 million hire?

Even when they find a coach, no one knows if the new guy will be successful.

Now, LSU has to contend with the perception of chaos … and a wild-card governor who controls the very Board of Supervisors that will hire not only the coach, but a president and permanent AD who need to work closely together in a time when money stocks rosters.

You don’t just pick a coach; the coach has to be persuaded to pick you.

Louisiana in general, and LSU in particular, is always surrounded by a healthy dose of crazy. That’s part of its power, part of its appeal, part of what makes it special. Play Neck. Geaux Tigers.

It also, after a clumsy few days of political grandstanding, has become a self-constructed hurdle to overcome.