LSU’s coaching search has become a political affair, with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) getting in on the discussion. The public official stated last week that he wouldn’t allow the school’s athletic director, Scott Woodward, to make the decision.
While initially the comment was taken as pure bluster on Landry’s part, SEC insider Paul Finebaum believes there could be some stock behind the comment. In particular, he seems to believe the Governor would block the hiring of Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin to replace Brian Kelly. Well, not directly, but in a way.
“Politics and college football are intertwined. But the problem with this Governor (Jeff Landry) is, he just became a caricature of Louisiana governors. And that’s hard to… And he made it, if you’re Lane Kiffin, or somebody else, you’re going ‘Do I want to deal with that? ‘ ” (1:20), Said Finebaum on the “Paul Finebaum Show” on Sunday
For Finebaum, it is not that Landry has any real say in the decision. It’s just that, by the mere action of getting involved, he harmed LSU’s credibility in front of top coaching candidates like Lane Kiffin.
What did Jeff Landry say about the LSU coaching search?
Speaking last week in the Baton Rouge Capitol, Governor Jeff Landry made it clear in no uncertain terms that he wished to get involved in the decision of who LSU’s next coach will be:
“No, I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting our next coach,” Landry told reporters during a news conference at the state capitol in Baton Rouge.
“Maybe we’ll let President Trump pick it,” Landry said. “He loves winners. You know, I’m not going to be picking the next coach, but I can promise you we’re gonna pick a coach and we’re gonna make sure that that coach is successful. We’re gonna make sure that he’s compensated properly, and we’re gonna put metrics on it because I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country and then leaving the taxpayers to foot the bill.”
While trying to portray it as an admirable attempt to defend state pride and protect taxpayers’ contributions, the world of sports has just seen these declarations as a bizarre way of trying to score political points.
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