Jeff Landry continued to politick on LSU coaching search on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’

Nearly an hour after Ryan Clark slammed Jeff Landry for his involvement in the LSU coaching search, the Louisiana Governor appeared on ESPN airwaves.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Landry was given free rein to continue politicking about the Tigers’ job vacancy and the fallout from the firing of Brian Kelly.

Throughout the interview, the Louisiana Governor repeatedly criticized LSU athletic director Scott Woodward, who fired Kelly with more than $50 million remaining on his contract following the Tigers’ loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. Earlier this week, Landry vowed to block Woodward from picking LSU’s next head coach, pointing to Kelly’s sizable contract and concerns that Louisiana taxpayers could be left to pay the price.”

“The only reason I’m currently involved, Pat, is because this contract that is between the state of Louisiana, the Louisiana State University system, and Brian Kelly leaves the taxpayers of the state on the bill,” Landry said during his appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “There is misinformation out there — they’re saying, ‘oh no, the taxpayers aren’t liable’ — they’re not reading the contract… that contract binds the state of Louisiana, if we have to pay $53 million, and someone doesn’t step up to foot that bill, the state of Louisiana has to foot that bill. That is in the contract.”

McAfee, who asked multiple questions with a Cajun accent, responded by noting the primary criticism against Landry — including the one offered by Clark — is that the politician is overstepping his boundaries by involving himself in the Tigers’ athletic department. The governor, however, emphasized that he won’t personally be responsible for selecting LSU’s next head coach and that the task will ultimately be given to LSU’s Board of Supervisors.

But while Landry clearly isn’t a fan of Woodward’s, his larger issue appears to be with the state of college sports. Specifically, the governor called for the NCAA to put guardrails in place with regard to the exorbitant coaches’ contracts, like the 10-year, $100 million deal LSU gave Kelly to lure him from Notre Dame in 2021.

“They are ruining one of the best sports in America,” Landry said. “College football is the quintessential of football in America. And there’s no guardrails.”

“There’s a number of bad contracts that seem to have followed Scott Woodward..

It’s time for the NCAA to start putting some guardrails around College Football” ~ @JeffLandry #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/dFnFh6aV7T

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 30, 2025

While McAfee stated that he loves that Landry is Louisiana’s football-loving governor, he also pushed back, saying that many believe such regulations should come from the government, not the NCAA. To that end, Landry expressed a desire for the next LSU head coach’s contract to provide a performance-based template for other schools to follow to curb exorbitant salary figures.

“I think everybody in the state of Louisiana is in agreement that the next coach that we hire is going to have a patently different contract,” Landry 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. You should say, ‘Guess what? I’m putting my reputation on the line. And when I win, this is how much money I want.'”

McAfee said he appreciated Landry’s perspective and efforts, but also expressed his belief that he’s facing an uphill battle. “I think it’s a freight train that’s already kind of run away, Governor,” the former All-Pro punter said.

Ultimately, both can be true: even if there’s an apparent need for regulation in college sports, until someone steps up with a viable solution, coaches’ contracts are likely only going to get bigger from here. As such, it will certainly be interesting to see how LSU’s coaching search shakes out and whether Landry is able to put his lack of guaranteed money where his mouth is.