‘Most Louisiana Thing Ever': Governor Landry Shakes Up LSU Football

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has an interesting first term in the Governor's Office. If you Google the Governor, the reactions to him and some of his decisions vary wildly. Some people absolutely love him...others not so much. Generally speaking, that's probably pretty standard for a politician at his level. However, not every state's governor is involved in things like the hiring and firing of a college's head football coach.

But, in Louisiana, that's exactly what our Governor is spending some of his time and effort on.

What is Jeff Landry's Connection to LSU Football?

Governor Landry is not an LSU alumni. He went to college at ULL and Loyola University in New Orleans. So, why is he so concerned with LSU and LSU Football in particular? I don't have a 'factual answer' to that specific question...but I'd imagine it has a lot to do with the fact that LSU sports brings in a LOT of money and tourism dollars when they are winning. So, anything below a championship contending program probably isn't great for the state as a whole. And since day one, whether you like it or not, Governor Landry has been very hands on with LSU Football.

Governor Landry's first, big, public connection to LSU football dates back to 2024. The Governor REALLY wanted a live tiger on the sidelines for the LSU vs Alabama match up. Live tigers haven't been used by LSU since 2016. The Governor arranged it and made it happen. Some traditionalist loved the move, animal activists didn't...and other questioned why the Governor of the state with some of Louisiana's problems was so focused on this particular issue. Regardless about how you felt about the whole thing, it was a news item for a week or two, and then just disappeared.

However, his later involvement with LSU Football's head coach has gotten a LOT of people's attention.

READ MORE: Could This Be LSU's Next Head Coach?

Did the Governor 'Fire' Brian Kelly?

A lot of LSU fans were critical of Brian Kelly and were thinking LSU needed to make a change. One of those fans, as you can probably guess, was Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry. Following LSU's Blowout loss to Texas A&M, Landry tweeted the following:

But it goes well beyond at Tweet. Unlike most fans, it sounds like the Governor actually took control of the situation and made it happen.

According to the New York Post, Landry was pretty involved in the decision making process to fire Kelly. According to the article from the Post, Landry was very involved in the decision making here - reporting that "Landry reportedly has “significant influence” over the school’s Board of Supervisors and hosted a meeting at his mansion Sunday prior to Kelly’s dismissal, which includes a $54 million buyout."

“It’s the most Louisiana thing ever that the governor is directly involved in a decision over a football coach,” one LSU influencer told Yahoo Sports.

So it appears that Governor Landry had some influence in the decision to fire Brian Kelly. Will he be involved in hiring the next head football coach of LSU?

Who Will Hire the Next Head Coach of the LSU Tigers?

At most universities, this answer is simple - the athletics director. However, this is Louisiana and the answer probably isn't what you think it is. And, today in no terms that could be misheard or misquoted, Jeff Landry said that LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward will not be the person making any decisions regarding the next LSU Head Football Coach. I could write the quote out...but it's more fun to hear it directly from the Governor...because he went OFF.

Based off the Governor's statements, the AD won't be making the decision but a committee put together by the LSU Board of Directors. Also, judging by his statement, it doesn't sound like Woodward is viewed in the most positive light by his employers and people in power - which typically doesn't end well.

Now, personally, do I think the Governor of any state should be this directly involved in what's going on with a College Football program? No. But, if you listen to him, I also don't exactly disagree with him. There's a lot of bad decisions and bad hires and bad contracts in the world of college football. And, somebody should step up to do something about it. Now, whether that should be the current Governor of a state or not, we could probably debate that point. But here we are.

Former College Head Coach Urban Meyer had an interesting take about the Governor's involvement. You can read the whole article here, but this is the part that really caught my attention:  "So, here’s the question. If the governor had a hand in firing the head football coach of an SEC school that won 70 percent of his games… and he did, does he get fired if the next hire doesn’t work out?"

That's a good point...if the Governor is deeply involved in this, and if whoever the next guy just stinks the place up...will the Governor be held responsible? Could that and should that cause him to lose a re-election bid? I guess we'll see what happens over the next few years. But, one thing is for certain: there's NO PLACE that's quite like Louisiana.