From LSU to UNC, Politicians Are Pushing Into CFB Coaching Decisions

The college football coaching carousel has begun to attract a new set of stakeholders: politicians.

From Louisiana to North Carolina, both local and federal lawmakers have taken various levels of involvement in the hirings and firings of the college football coaches at their marquee state universities. 

Bayou Power Play

Perhaps the most notable: the situation at LSU. In Louisiana, political involvement in LSU football isn’t exactly rare—Louisiana governors, especially, have involved themselves in the Tigers’ affairs dating back to the 1930s with Huey Long. The current situation is no different.

Gov. Jeff Landry hosted a meeting at the governor’s mansion just hours before LSU announced head football coach Brian Kelly had been fired. At first, it appeared Landry’s involvement may not have been that unusual. LSU was without a permanent university president, meaning that the governor—who could preside over the state’s public university system and whose office appoints board members—might take an outsized role in major university decision-making in the absence of a permanent leader.

But then, Landry inserted himself even more. During a press conference unrelated to LSU football, he told reporters that athletic director Scott Woodward would not be choosing the new coach, comments he reiterated. The week ended with Woodward exiting LSU, leaving a new AD to assemble a search committee. Landry also promised to be involved in discussions regarding the terms of the future coach’s contract, criticizing Kelly’s gargantuan buyout, and floating the idea of including more performance-based benefits.

Landry’s office did not respond to multiple Front Office Sports requests for comment.

Landry wasn’t the only one to get involved—after Kelly filed a lawsuit last week against LSU, the Louisiana attorney general’s office told FOS it was reviewing the case on behalf of LSU. 

Ole Miss Meddling

Take Mississippi, for example. As the coaching carousel ramps up even more, all eyes are on Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin—who has been rumored to be taking meetings with multiple programs (including SEC rivals Florida and LSU) even amid an already successful season for the Rebels. 

This weekend, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson posted: “At some point, it’d be nice for our current coach (Lane Kiffin) to reciprocate the love and gratitude shown by our administration, players, fan base, and collective. It just shouldn’t be this hard.”

Watson didn’t stop there—he continued to respond to comments on his original post discussing whether Kiffin had “reciprocated” the positivity shown by fans. To one person, he wrote: “I also understand the number of jobs that are and will be coming open. I want my Rebs to have a great coach if ours plans to leave. Is that not a fair request?”

Watson did not respond to interview requests from FOS.

Carolina Caucus

Then there was a prominent example from last year’s coaching carousel: how then-senators helped get Bill Belichick the job at North Carolina. 

The administration at Chapel Hill first learned of Belichick’s interest in the job through two politicians, according to an ESPN report. Belichick first contacted then-Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, now the U.S. secretary of state, who passed along the message to North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis then called North Carolina state senate president pro tempore Phil Berger to facilitate introductions. 

As one source told ESPN, the whole Belichick pursuit “all started with the politicians.”