LSU, AD Scott Woodward agree to part ways as Tigers begin football coaching search

LSU and athletic director Scott Woodward have agreed to part ways, the program announced Thursday evening. This significant change at the top of the Tigers organization comes amid a football coaching search that will hire a replacement for Brian Kelly, who was ousted from the team last Sunday.

Woodward had fallen out of favor with LSU stakeholders, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who said Woodward would not hire the Tigers’ next coach because of his history of making colossal buyouts to fired team leaders.

Kelly existed at LSU with a massive $53 million buyout, the second largest in college football history. Woodward has $6.4 million of his own. The Tigers may not be responsible for those total amounts given that both contracts include an attenuation clause with a requirement to seek new employment.

“We thank Scott for the past six years of service as our athletic director,” said Scott Ballard, chairman of the LSU Board of Supervisors. “He has had great success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best for the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and better positioning LSU to reach its full potential.”

Longtime athletic administrator Verge Ausberry will serve as interim AD. He will be responsible for leading “all facets of the athletic department, including the search for the next football coach,” according to LSU. Ausbery served as AD executive assistant under Woodward and LSU’s executive director of external relations.

“I am honored that the Board of Overseers and university leadership trust me to serve the university in this role,” Ausberry said in a statement. “…It is my responsibility to move this athletic department forward, including hiring the best football coach in America to lead our program. Our coaches and staff will continue to work every day to provide our student-athletes with the best experience possible and set a championship-level standard.”

Landry previously indicated that instead of Woodward, the LSU Board of Supervisors would oversee the search for a new football coach. It hasn’t been made clear if that’s still the plan with Ausberry leading the search or if Ausberry will have greater authority in the hiring process.

“We’re not going down a failed path,” Landry said, “and I wanted to tell you something. He’s a model. The guy who wrote [Kelly’s] The contract cost Texas A&M some $70 million. We have liabilities of $53 million. I believe we will find a great coach. … The supervisory board is going to create a committee and they’re going to find us a coach.”

Woodward was hired by LSU in 2019 after a stint at Texas A&M during which he was responsible for hiring Jimbo Fisher away from Florida State. He brought in Fisher for a large sum with a substantial and ill-timed contract extension, resulting in the largest buyout in college football history, leaving the Aggies saddled with $76 million when they fired Fisher during the 2023 season.

Woodward also lured Kelly away from Notre Dame, initially signing him to a 10-year, $95 million contract in 2021.

Although neither Kelly nor Fisher lived up to the high expectations of their respective schools, Woodward did indeed hit a home run earlier in his career. The former Washington AD successfully lured Chris Petersen away from Boise State in a move that revitalized the Huskies football program, which ultimately made an appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2016.

Woodward’s propensity to make dramatic hires injected energy into the programs at each of his stops, but those decisions ultimately had drastic financial consequences at Texas A&M and LSU.

Kelly’s firing spelled the end of Woodward’s six-year tenure at LSU. Kelly was a tricky pick for the Tigers early on, but he was immense and promising as a long-time winner at Notre Dame. He never lost fewer than three games in a season in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, although he failed to reach the CFP.

The struggles to break into the SEC’s most elite tier came to a head last weekend when the Tigers lost in resounding fashion at home to No. 3 Texas A&M. Chants of “Fire Kelly” echoed through a deflated Tiger stadium.