Jeff Landry Blasts LSU AD on Pat McAfee Show

BATON ROUGE, La. (103.3 The GOAT) — Gov. Jeff Landry is picking up a lot of media coverage over his involvement in the LSU football program's future.

On Wednesday, according to The Advocate, Landry said at a press conference that Woodward won’t have a role in choosing Brian Kelly’s replacement. He went further, saying, “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select him before I let him do it.”

That comment sent sports media across the country into a frenzy, getting reported on by ESPN, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, and others.

Now, Landry himself is making appearances in sports programming, including one of the biggest shows on ESPN, The Pat McAfee Show.

Jeff Landry Joins Pat McAfee

"There's a number of bad contracts that seem to have followed Scott Woodward," Landry said on the show Thursday.

The Governor appears to have been referring to both the Kelly contract and the Jimbo Fisher contract, both of which led to early dismissals and massive buyouts. However, Fisher's buyout came after a contract extension Woodward was not responsible for.

Still, some have noted that two hires Woodward was responsible for have resulted in $130 million in buyouts. Landry's involvement in the Kelly firing allegedly centered around finding the donor money to pay the buyout without LSU having to incur massive costs.

Who Will Pick LSU's Next Coach?

"I will not be picking the new coach and that is not my job," Landry also said on McAfee's show. "The only reason that I'm really involved is because this Brian Kelly contract leaves the taxpayers of this state on the bill."

It is unclear how much, if any, of the buyout would have been funded by taxpayers, as LSU Board of Supervisors Chair Scott Ballard recently stated the buyout would come from "self-generated athletics funds and private donors."

Scott McKay, the publisher of the conservative news and opinion site The Hayride, said that Landry's insistence on a contract that isn't a massive, long-term deal like Kelly's is exactly what LSU needs.

"This isn’t a bad thing if you’re an LSU fan," McKay wrote. "It’s actually a really good thing. It means you aren’t going to have to spend the next decade terrified of the athletic department going bankrupt if the football coach decides he’d rather drink wine than break down game tape and starts getting boatraced in front of the home folks on ABC."

Is Woodward Out?

While no official word is out as to whether or not the current athletic director is out the door, speculation—and Landry's comments—seem to indicate the mood on Woodward has soured in Baton Rouge.

Fans of LSU athletics are quick to point out that two of Woodward's hires in recent years have been Kelly and men's basketball coach Matt McMahon. The most successful hire at LSU under his tenure, however, has been LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey, who won a national title and has continued to make solid runs in March Madness since winning that title.

In short, the future of the LSU Tigers football program is still up in the air, as is Woodward's future.