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LSU's athletic director is fired just days after Louisiana governor said he'd rather let Trump pick a new head coach MORE: ESPN star hits out at Louisiana governor over Charlie Kirk statue plans By DANIEL MATTHEWS, US SENIOR SPORTS WRITER Published: 14:25 GMT, 31 October 2025 | Updated: 14:25 GMT, 31 October 2025 LSU athletic director Scott Woodward is out of a job only days after governor Jeff Landry claimed he would sooner let president Trump select the school's next football coach. The Tigers are on the hunt for a new leader after Brian Kelly was fired last weekend. Woodward was supposed to be the man to lead that search, only for the state's Republican governor to make an extraordinary intervention. 'I can tell you right now Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,' Landry said earlier this week. 'Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it.' On Thursday night, LSU announced that they had parted ways with Woodward. Executive deputy athletics director Verge Ausberry has been named interim AD and will be in charge of finding a new head coach. 'We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director,' Scott Ballard, LSU's board of supervisors chair, said in a statement. 'He had a lot of success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential.' Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is fed up with LSU AD Scott Woodward and says he will not be picking the Tigers' next football coach. "Scott Woodward is not selecting the next head coach. I’ll let Donald Trump select it before I let him."pic.twitter.com/rdhn9T3m9w — Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 29, 2025 Athletic director Scott Woodward (L) has left LSU just days after coach Brian Kelly (R) was fired Governor Jeff Landry said he would rather President Trump hired the next Tigers head coach Woodward previously paid the largest buyout ever to Jimbo Fisher when he was at Texas A&M Kelly was fired in the wake of LSU's 49-25 loss to Texas A&M - their third of the 2025 season. He is reportedly owed $53million by the Tigers - the second biggest buyout in college football history. The largest, at nearly $77m, belongs to former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher. He was hired by Woodward during his tenure as AD in College Station. Woodward left for LSU in 2019 - four years before Fisher was fired. 'We are not going down a failed path... this is a pattern,' Landry said. 'The guy here now that wrote that contract cost A&M $77 million. Right now, we have a $53m liability and we are not doing that again. 'And you know what? I believe we’re going to find a great coach. Maybe we’ll let President Trump pick it. He loves winners.' On Thursday, however, reports claimed that Landry held a personal vendetta against Woodward. 'He’s got it out for him,' a senior figure in Louisiana politics told Yahoo. 'This governor picks fights and he never forgets a slight.' Share or comment on this article: LSU's athletic director is fired just days after Louisiana governor said he'd rather let Trump pick a new head coach Add comment
