Louisiana politics and LSU football. That’s two things that can’t stay out of each other’s way. This week, the collision was spectacular. After Brian Kelly’s firing, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry took the mic and made it clear. AD Scott Woodward would not be picking the new HC. It’s shocking that Baton Rouge’s most powerful man just benched the AD. But as it turns out, the clash didn’t pop up overnight. 

On a Yahoo! Sports episode on October 30, Ross Dellenger peeled back the curtain on Jeff Landry’s long-simmering rift with LSU’s brass. A feud brewed from ego, politics, and a few headline-grabbing stunts. “Some things that the governor did almost immediately when he got elected a year and a half ago, two years ago, was involve himself in a couple of LSU matters that produced some pretty big controversy,” he said. That involvement included Landry publicly criticizing Kim Mulkey’s women’s basketball team on Fox News for not being present during the national anthem, a practice, Dellenger pointed out, “a lot of teams aren’t present” for anyway. The move “frustrated a lot of people on campus,” he added, lighting the fuse for what was to come.

Then came the tiger. Literally. “He went out and he got a tiger, a live tiger from Florida and brought him in to continue the tradition of a caged tiger being wheeled around LSU’s football field,” Ross Dellenger said, referring to Jeff Landry’s attempt to revive LSU’s old mascot tradition. The problem is that practice was scrapped a decade ago after campus vets deemed it animal mistreatment. Still, the governor charged ahead, drumming up more controversy than school spirit. And just when you thought it couldn’t get wilder, another kicker dropped.

“The governor urged LSU to rehire Will Wade,” Dellenger added. The former basketball coach was booted for multiple NCAA violations. LSU passed, but Jeff Landry didn’t forget. So when Scott Woodward axed Brian Kelly midseason, he pounced. Within days, the man who brought LSU a national title and hired Kim Mulkey was gone, undone by a political heavyweight who doesn’t play by football’s unwritten rules. 

Scott Woodward out, LSU in transition

On Thursday, October 29, LSU officially confirmed that it had finalized an agreement to part ways with Scott Woodward. The timing, coming just days after Brian Kelly’s termination, couldn’t have been more telling. Associate AD Verge Ausberry was tapped to serve as the interim, signaling a swift move to stabilize the athletic department amid the chaos. “We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director,” Board of Supervisors Chair Scott Ballard said. “He had a lot of success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential.”

Of course, Scott Woodward’s exit wasn’t just an internal decision. It had Jeff Landry’s fingerprints all over it. A day before the announcement, the governor had publicly blasted the AD during a press conference. “No. I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” he said. “Hell, I would let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it.” The governor even floated the idea of a hiring committee, hinting that he wanted more political oversight on LSU’s next big move.

Now, LSU’s left juggling empty chairs at president, provost, athletic director, and head coach. Maybe that’s what happens when politics decides to call the plays in college sports.