Two years ago, Texas A&M paid Jimbo Fisher more than $70 million to go away, the biggest buyout in the history of college football. On Sunday, Brian Kelly reportedly picked up the second-largest buyout ever.
Those situations had one person in common: Scott Woodward.
The LSU athletic director has a reputation of fishing for splashy hires. During his first stop at Washington, he lured Chris Petersen from Boise State. At Texas A&M, he landed the hire of the century by bringing national champion Fisher to College Station. And after taking the LSU job in 2019, he swung for the fences when he lured Brian Kelly from Notre Dame with a massive 10-year contract.
Woodward is a poster child for winning the press conference, imposing his will and handing out some of the craziest contracts ever. But now, for the second time in three years, his obsession with swinging for the fences has a major athletic department reeling. And now, with the board and even governor of Louisiana getting involved, LSU should seriously consider whether Woodward deserves the chance to make a third mistaken hire.
Let’s turn the clock back to the 2021 coaching carousel for a moment. From the start, it was clear that Woodward — a native son of Baton Rouge — was saving his biggest moment for his alma mater. LSU was tied to then-Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, to the point that Riley even publicly said he would not go to Baton Rouge. He instead took the USC job.
Then, it was trying to convince Fisher to go from Texas A&M to LSU. His interest earned Fisher a new monstrous extension — so technically, not all $70 million in buyout money was Woodward’s fault.
From there, it was haphazardly big game hunting. Lane Kiffin. Mel Tucker. There was little consideration for taking shots like Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning or Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko. Hindsight is 20/20 on those candidates, but they’re leading some of the best teams in college football in 2025.
Finally, in Kelly, Woodward convinced a “name” to say yes. The Notre Dame coach was a career northern coach without any history recruiting the south. He was a ball coach and program builder with struggles recruiting at the highest level. In his mind, introducing the recruiting infrastructure would solve his greatest problems; there wasn’t much consideration that he was a part of the issue.
From the start, Kelly in the Deep South was a little bit of a joke. He became a meme when he tried to feign a Southern accent, and danced with a recruit. It was a strange look for the longtime coach at Notre Dame, one of the most straight laced programs in the sport.
Kelly did have some quick success, leading the Tigers to a 2022 SEC West title and win over Alabama. But from there, cracks started forming in the foundation. In the past two years, the defense declined. When they invested heavily to fix it, the offensive line and running game collapsed.
To the contrary, Marcus Freeman, the coach that replaced Kelly at Notre Dame, played for a national championship in 2025. No one in South Bend sweated losing the winningest coach in the history of the program.
LSU under Kelly never reached serious national championship contention, despite putting elite resources into the 2025 recruiting class. The swing for the fences resulted in another strikeout, and a wildly expensive one at that.
Even heading into Sunday, it was viewed as unlikely around the industry that Kelly’s job was seriously on the line. Instead, Woodward pulled the plug after a disappointing 49-25 loss to No. 3 Texas A&M at Tiger Stadium that ended with “Fire Kelly!” chants across the venue.
To be clear, there is value to taking swings and winning the press conference. It can galvanize fans and boosters, bringing much needed support — financial and otherwise — to the athletic department.
By hiring Petersen, Woodward resurrected Washington’s athletic department, turning them into a national contender. Fisher also led Texas A&M to an Orange Bowl victory and AP top-five finish before he was unceremoniously canned. And even though the on-field product ultimately suffered, it galvanized Texas A&M into investing at the top of college football.
But entering a competitive coaching market and new era of college football, LSU has to be smarter about managing its search. There are power players in Louisiana who would view the coach at Tulane, Jon Sumrall, as beneath them. They should not. Sumrall is one of the best coaches in America. Not giving him a full vetting would be malpractice.
And furthermore, the magnetic power of individual coaches in the sport is waning. More important now is resource, infrastructure and administrative support. Indiana’s hiring of Curt Cignetti spurred action, but their ascension to the top of the sport coincides with unprecedented investment in the program. To the contrary, LSU only re-entered the elite tier of player acquisition with the 2024-25 recruiting class. Will the next coach be given top 1% investment? That matters far more than whether you hand him a $12 million contract.
It’s unclear at this point whether Woodward will lead the coaching search in 2025. Louisiana governor Jeff Landry has already made his voice heard. LSU does not have a permanent school president, only complicating the situation. And certainly, Woodward will feel personal pressure to clean up his mistake and deliver an even bigger result for his hometown program.
But if LSU has not learned from Woodward’s repeated mistakes, nothing will change. Don’t worry about winning the press conference. Just hire a dang good coach.
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