Louisiana fired its football coach Monday Brian Kelly.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday that the university's athletic director, Scott Woodward, should not have a say in the selection of a new coach.
Woodward and LSU Thursday”agreed to break up“, the school's athletic department reports.
And on Friday, the interim athletic director tried to assure everyone that despite everything that has happened this week, there is no unrest in the department.
“This place is not broken,” Verge Ausberry said during a news conference in which he sat between two members of the LSU Board of Supervisors in the front of a conference room at Tiger Stadium. “The sports part is not broken. We are winning.”
Ausberry has been given “full authority” to run the athletic department and lead the search for a new football coach, board member John Carmouche told reporters.
“We're going to hire the best football coach,” said Ausberry, a former Tigers football player who has worked in LSU's athletics administration since 1991. “That's our job. We're not going to let this program fail. LSU has to make the football playoffs every year.”
Woodward, a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate, has served as the university's athletic director since April 2019. During this time, the Tigers won two national titles in baseball and one each in football, women's basketball and gymnastics.
One of the important steps taken during Woodward's reign was firing of football coach Ed Orgeron in 2021who led the Tigers to a national championship after the 2019 season and subsequently signed Kelly, the former Notre Dame coach, to a guaranteed 10-year contract worth about $100 million.
This week, days after LSU suffered its third loss in four games, Kelly was fired with more than six years remaining on his contract. Running backs coach Frank Wilson was named interim head coach.
“When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC championships and national championships during his tenure in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said in announcing Kelly's dismissal. “Ultimately, success at the level LSU required simply did not materialize.”
The move leaves the university on the hook for a substantial buyout. Louisiana's governor said Wednesday he was involved in the discussions that led to Kelly's resignation but made clear he was unhappy with the financial situation.
“My role is the financial impact of firing a coach on a terrible contract,” said Landry, who spoke to reporters about other matters but was asked about the latest developments at LSU. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for.”
Unnamed private donors have reportedly pledged to cover the cost of Kelly's buyout.
“If big billionaires want to spend that much money, no problem,” Landry said. “But if I have to come up with $53 million … it’s going to be a tough conversation.”
Landry also made it clear that he has no intention of allowing Woodward to be involved in the hiring of the next coach.
“Damn, I'll let Donald Trump pick him before I let him [Woodward] do it,” the Republican governor said.
The next night Woodward was away.
“We thank Scott for his past six years as athletic director,” LSU Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott Ballard said in a statement. “He has had great success at LSU and we wish him the best for the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to realize its full potential.”
The news of Woodward's departure came during an exhibition women's basketball game between LSU and Langston. Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who Woodward hired in 2021, did not attend the postgame press conference, and associate head coach Bob Starkey told reporters Mulkey was “heartbroken” by the news.
Woodward wrote in an open letter to Tiger Nation: “Others may sum up or opine on my tenure and my decisions over the last six years as Director of Athletics, but I will not do so. Rather, I will focus on the absolute joy that LSU athletics brings to the people of our state and the Baton Rouge community. …
“Our university will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will never be too far from LSU.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
