Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry joined The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday to talk more about the firing and potential buyout of former LSU head football coach Brian Kelly after a news conference featuring Landry’s remarks about the matter went viral the day before.
Landry told McAfee he only got involved in Kelly’s firing to protect taxpayers as the university searches for the money to pay out Kelly’s contract, which is worth over $50 million.
“If we have to pay $53 million, and somebody else doesn’t step up to foot that bill, the state of Louisiana has to foot that bill. That is in the contract,” Landry said.
Sources have said private donations and self-generated revenue from athletics will cover the buyout, not taxpayers.
“Emphatically, I am not picking the coach,” Landry said Thursday. “That is not my job.”
McAfee questioned the governor about his earlier comments saying Athletic Director Scott Woodward would not be hiring the next football coach. He asked Landry about people’s concern that someone who isn’t a sports expert could choose the next coach.
“A lot of people have said, ‘Scott’s the athletic director for a reason. You’re gonna have people that aren’t in athletics now making an athletics decision.’ Do you view it that way?” McAffee asked.
Landry replied, “There’s a number of bad contracts that seem to have followed Scott Woodward.”
“His agent and Brian Kelly’s agent are the same agent,” Landry added. “In the legal profession, that is called a conflict of interest. How can I trust my athletic director whose agent also represents some of the candidates that are out there?”
Woodward and LSU did not immediately respond to questions about whether Woodward has the same agent as Kelly.
Landry said he has “no problem compensating these coaches, even at the level that we’re talking about — as long as we’re winning.” He said that perhaps the deal LSU comes up with for the next coach could serve as a “template.”
“I think that everyone is in agreement here in the state of Louisiana that the next coach that we hire is gonna have a patently different contract,” he said.
“These big-name coaches, they’re big names because they win. What are they afraid of? Right? If you’re the best, you shouldn’t have to worry,” he said. “You say, ‘Guess what? I’m putting my reputation on the line, and when I win, this is how much money I want.’”
Landry noted that he previously served in Congress.
“Politicians love to kick the can down the road,” he said. “I don’t like it. I like to step on the can. I like to solve the problem.”
After the conversation ended, McAfee — who throughout the interview mimicked Landry’s Cajun accent — said of the governor, “That guy is an absolute character.”
“Louisiana is its own country,” McAfee said. “Louisiana is a special place. It is a dynamic place. It is a unique place.”
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