CFB Newsletter: What Can the Governor of Louisiana Actually Do Here?
Jeff Landry has a lot to say about LSU's athletic director, Scott Woodward, and how the Tigers will approach their next coach's contract. Is it hot air?
Welcome to the College Football Newsletter, where we’re not selecting the next head coach.
Brian Kelly is out at LSU. And while we’re gonna have to wait until the offseason to get a better understanding of who’s in the running to succeed him, we’re getting a lot of transparency behind the process.
Already, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry has said in a press conference that “Scott Woodward is not selecting our next head coach.” Woodward’s bona fides as an athletic director now include playing a major role in the two largest contract buyouts in college football history with Kelly and Jimbo Fisher.
Woodward, unsurprisingly, is now out. The details of the governor’s vendetta against the athletic director, via Ross Dellenger, are really something.
Landry is at least talking like LSU’s next coach will not have a contract as one-sided as Kelly’s. So what’s the next head coach’s contract going to look like? Are we getting a financial “opposite of your ex” situation here? Is that even plausible for LSU given the high-profile nature of the job combined with so many open positions out there already? In this year’s wild coaching cycle, the demand for coaches might merit spending more than they’re probably expecting. So I asked Richard if this is a thing LSU can actually pull off:
There’s a couple ways they can do it. I think that they will probably land on something that is more incentive-laden if they really want to push.
At the end of the day, the governor can complain about how all the coaches are repped by the same small group of agents, and it is true, but that means you are still dealing with that same small group. You’re gonna be dealing with a situation where you just don’t have the leverage. And because of that and LSU’s stature, the Tigers will simply be paying their coach over $10 million, I would have to guess. That’s just the market rate.
And quite frankly, you probably have to pay me a premium to deal with all the administrative crap that is going on at LSU right now (new president coming in, governor meddling, etc). Curt Cignetti’s $11.6 million per year deal, in addition to what Matt Rhule just got, makes it clear: The price of the brick is the price of the brick if you’re LSU, no matter what the governor says.
But it is funny to think about what would happen if you hired a Jimbo Fisher, for instance. Because of his massive Texas A&M buyout that Scott Woodward contributed to with his initial contract, Jimbo could theoretically come be your coach for really, really cheap, because Jimbo has buyout money that has no offset clause in it.
Here’s what the SZD crew dropped into your podcast feeds this week:
We had our Brian Kelly emergency episode after he got kicked out of the LSU family.
Alex and Richard dove into Steve Sarkisian and Jimmy Sexton’s angry response to a report tying Sark to the NFL.
For the Tasting Menu, Alex and Richard preview Duke vs. Clemson and urge us to stop looking at Clemson like the brand name and consider them as the underdogs here.
Allen Kenney of Through the Keyhole joined Richard & Alex for the Main Course presented by Modelo to talk about Oklahoma vs. Tennessee, which is basically a College Football Playoff elimination game. We also asked him if Brent Venables has coached his way out of the hot seat. Watch the video version of the segment over at our YouTube channel.
Our hosts also write about other non-CFB subjects
Over at Slate, Alex wrote about Shohei Ohtani, who is so good that he might have eclipsed Barry Bonds as baseball’s most feared hitter, at least for one night.
For Hang Up and Listen, Alex talked about the NBA’s latest gambling scandal, which includes an extension of a previous one.
SZD social fun of the week
Alex asked Richard if he’s ever sat in the stands where the Georgia and Florida fans meet at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. It turns out that he has, and it was the last time he almost got into a physical altercation.
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Have fun watching the games this weekend, don’t get into any fights, and we’ll see you on Sunday.
How about he just shuts the fuck up for a change?