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Trying to wrap my head around the possibility of Woodward getting canned

Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:13 am
Posted by Mike da Tigah
Bravo Romeo Lima Alpha
Member since Feb 2005
61316 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:13 am
Is this not the same school that in spite of four catastrophic years of Curly Hallman, and five mediocre years of Gerry Dinardo, Joe Dean retained his tenure as AD until he finally was able to stumble upon Nick Saban who wasn’t even on his radar at the time? Joe’s claim to fame was largely wrapped up in Bertman, Henry, and his ability to keep LSU athletics in the black and turning a profit.

Scott has a set on him, and isn’t afraid to swing for the fences, and has brought in two coaches who brought 3 NCs to LSU in short order over his brief tenure, and yet because of the failure of a very prominent football coach he hired to bring LSU back to prominence, that’s a bridge too far?

The question I have is is this perhaps something we will all live to regret?



Posted by Chad504boy
4 posts
Member since Feb 2005
174756 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:17 am to
He hired jay johnson. Mulkey wanted to come. He hired jimbo and Brian Kelly two all time failures
Posted by StGeorgeTiger
Member since Sep 2024
710 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:19 am to
Why would I live to regret it?? I’m not making the decision either way.
Posted by SaveFarris
Member since Apr 2012
2451 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:21 am to
quote:

Mulkey wanted to come.


And Woodward made it happen.
Posted by Chad504boy
4 posts
Member since Feb 2005
174756 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:24 am to
quote:

And Woodward made it happen.


No cookies bubba. Our men’s team is in the shitter and you’re hanging your hat on that. Sad.
Posted by ibldprplgld
Member since Feb 2008
26793 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:25 am to
I don’t think Woodward is going to get fired, and he probably shouldn’t be. This board isn’t exactly the epitome of rationality.

Yes, an AD’s job is to hire coaches, but the responsibility goes far beyond that.

And let’s not forget, he only offered a contract the BoS told him they’d approve (and they did).
Posted by Mike da Tigah
Bravo Romeo Lima Alpha
Member since Feb 2005
61316 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:25 am to
quote:

He hired jay johnson. Mulkey wanted to come. He hired jimbo and Brian Kelly two all time failures


Lest we conveniently forget, Jimbo was high on our radar prior to A&M getting him, and Woodward was not at A&M when Jimbo received that outlandish raise/extension because he was at LSU, and A&M feared LSU getting him. Neither Jimbo, nor Kelly were anything but high profile accomplished coaches 4 years ago. It’s only now that they both shite the bed that we see all of this in a different light.

Posted by Chad504boy
4 posts
Member since Feb 2005
174756 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:26 am to
Notre dame knew then what we know now 4 years ago
Posted by Carlos the Tiger
Louisiana
Member since Feb 2020
319 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:29 am to
I don’t think I like Woodward personally, and I was very ready for Kelly to get fired, but I cannot say that I thought it was a bad idea at the time.

At the time Kelly was hired from Notre Dame, he was the winningest active coach in the country not named Nick Saban. We “stole“ him from Notre Dame while they were in the playoff picture and having a very good season. It looked right at the time and I am not a hypocrite. So I can’t blame Woodward for hiring Kelly
Posted by MOT
Member since Jul 2006
30330 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:31 am to
quote:

Joe Dean retained his tenure as AD until he finally was able to stumble upon Nick Saban who wasn’t even on his radar at the time?
Dean was completely neutered in that search, it was Emmert.
quote:

Joe’s claim to fame was largely wrapped up in Bertman, Henry, and his ability to keep LSU athletics in the black and turning a profit.
He didn’t hire Bertman.
Posted by baytiger11
Member since Jul 2020
2208 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:32 am to
I don't think Woodward needs to go as AD, or that he's bad for LSU. Part of the job is fundraising and navigating NIL, which he is good at. But I don't think he should have as much free reign in hiring the next football coach as he typically would. I understand that's handcuffing someone from doing part of their job, but he needs to sit in timeout after the Kelly contract.

I also don't like his blank check, big name approach. Part of an AD's job requirements should be having an eye for talented coaches that may not be huge names yet. I don't think Woody has that eye for lesser known talent. I don't think Woody would have even considered Saban from Michigan St. in 99.
Posted by ibldprplgld
Member since Feb 2008
26793 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:35 am to
quote:

No cookies bubba. Our men’s team is in the shitter and you’re hanging your hat on that. Sad.


You can’t hang the bad hires around his neck like an albatross and then take credit from him for the good ones. That’s not how that works.

It doesn’t matter if Mulkey was already running from Baylor back to Louisiana (she wasn’t in her own words) or if Jay Johnson would’ve crawled on hot coals 100 miles to get the LSU job — Woodward hired them.


Woodward went bold on Kelly which at the time was a seismic hire; and Woodward made a decision he thought best to insulate LSU from NCAA fallout in basketball.

One for sure didn’t work out and it’s likely we’ll be making a change at the other soon. Oh well, it happens and no AD bats a hundred on hires.
Posted by hall59tiger
Member since Oct 2013
2968 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:36 am to
It’s not just the contract. Many many ND fans predicted exactly what would happen with BK. The man wanted to collect a check and retire and he used LSU for that. Woodward should have done a better job betting BK and he should have realized how hands off he was/is as a coach. It was a really really bad hire for LSU and the contract just rubs salt on the wound.
Posted by Alt26
Member since Mar 2010
33677 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:42 am to
quote:

I don’t think Woodward is going to get fired, and he probably shouldn’t be. This board isn’t exactly the epitome of rationality.

Yes, an AD’s job is to hire coaches, but the responsibility goes far beyond that.

And let’s not forget, he only offered a contract the BoS told him they’d approve (and they did).


Fair or not, Woodward is held responsible for Kelly. Yes, I'm sure he had a directive from the donors to land a big time HC (that's who really calls the shots, not the BOS). But they gave him the autonomy to find that guy. 3.5 years later they are paying a huge bill to get rid of that guy. Point being, they don't trust Woodward anymore to find the "right" guy. Then you throw in the fact the basketball program, which should be LSU's second biggest profit generator, has been the worst in the conference for the last 3 seasons, leading to what is likely going to be another need/request to pay a buyout and find a new HC.

Additionally, the LSU admin landscape looks much different than when BK was hired. Landry wasn't Governor and his BOS selections weren't present then. Now you have a Governor who wants to, very publicly, remake LSU with HIS own people. That's why you will see the McNeese president soon become the LSU president. And the Governor wants to help bring in a big football hire so he can tout in inner circles (and likely outer too) how he was the savior of LSU football.

Believe me if you want, but last spring there was a strong push by SW LA Landry donors to get Will Wade back to LSU. The Governor was involved because he wanted the publicity/credit if it happened. The LSU admin shut down the push. That's in part (though not totally) why LSU is looking for a new president. He didn't just serve as a "yes man". The expectation is the new president will, and if Woodward is seen as an impediment to the big Landry donors in getting their way, they will get Woodward out of the way too and bring in someone who will do their bidding.
Posted by Godfather1
What WAS St George, Louisiana
Member since Oct 2006
87047 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:44 am to
quote:

Joe Dean retained his tenure as AD until he finally was able to stumble upon Nick Saban who wasn’t even on his radar at the time?


Mark Emmert found Nick Saban.
Posted by EvrybodysAllAmerican
Member since Apr 2013
12505 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:46 am to
Letting Will Wade go was his biggest blunder. Not sure that was even his choice. Everyone thought BK was a good hire at the time. i dont fault him for that. Nobody knew BK would mail it in and play golf every day.
Woodward is a good fund raiser, and he was able to find a booster to buy out BK. So he cleaned up his mess before it got too bad unlike the prior AD that let Miles hang around about 2 seasons longer than he should have.
So why is everyone pissed at Woodward? He brought in Jay and Mulkey (3 championships), and showed BK the door as soon as things became obvious that football was sinking. I think he's actually done pretty well other than the basketball hire. (That also brings up an interesting topic...if he's this quick to fire BK, how much time does McMahon have left ?)
This post was edited on 10/29/25 at 7:56 am
Posted by ApisMellifera
SWLA
Member since Apr 2023
681 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:54 am to
quote:

Our men’s team is in the shitter


It's not like the MM hire was WTF hire at the time. Same goes for the Kelly hire. Most people said we needed an "adult" to come in and right the ship which Kelly did the first year. He just got lazy after that which is still pretty puzzling since it is obvious to everyone that Kelly really wanted a championship at this level to cement him as a great coach.

quote:

I don’t think Woodward is going to get fired, and he probably shouldn’t be.


I don't think he should be either but honestly if it is true that Woodward has no say in this coaching search and hiring process, idk how you retain him. You can't have an AD that gets zero say in the football program. No AD would want to work like that and many coaches aren't going to want to work under a system like that.
This post was edited on 10/29/25 at 7:57 am
Posted by Techdave
Laffy
Member since Apr 2014
212 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 7:57 am to
quote:

He hired jimbo and Brian Kelly two all time failures


All time failures? Jimbo was successful but not great his first few years at A&M. Same with Brian Kelly, started off with two 10-win seasons. Neither is hardly an all-time failure.

I'm not necessarily a Woodward fan, but the decisions weren't terrible....10 years fully guaranteed however is another story.
Posted by Crab trapper12
Member since Oct 2021
321 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 8:05 am to
It’s not the product on the field. It’s the consistent horrible contracts at AM and LSU. Over 100 mil in dead buyout money
Posted by Dueces
Member since Jul 2009
1096 posts
Posted on 10/29/25 at 8:07 am to
He’s out
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