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re: LSU Front Office Org Chart
Posted on 8/23/25 at 12:01 pm to Lester Earl
Posted on 8/23/25 at 12:01 pm to Lester Earl
quote:
If Brian Kelly was fired tomorrow, I think Austin Thomas would be retained. The same way Mickey Loomis is retained when Dennis Allen is fired. But hey I could be totally off
So? If a CEO is fired, the CFO, COO, CTO, etc aren’t automatically fired with them, unless they are particularly attached to them. If not, then a BoD will likely retain them at least until a new hire evaluates them and gives their input. But before this firing, all of those positions will typically direct report to the CEO.
It’s the same here. Kelly is the highest paid person at LSU and has control of all aspects of the football program. I’m sure they all work together and Kelly has a level of control over how they are operating their area of the program. But you are right that Thomas and his staff would almost certainly be retained through a staff transition. Those things are not mutually exclusive.
College football may be moving toward an NFL model with separate General Management and Coaching, but we are not there today. Coaches still run programs.
This post was edited on 8/23/25 at 12:02 pm
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Posted on 8/23/25 at 12:03 pm to nicholastiger
quote:
They need to start reducing head coach salary for all these other positions College head coaches are not worth $10 m a year anymore
I think we will slowly start seeing this now that we are at the doorstep of rev share. That will change the way football programs are structured over time.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 12:07 pm to Lester Earl
quote:
Kelly said just last week that a bunch of his duties have been reassigned to others.
I delegate more and more responsibility all the time as a leader of a department in my company. I have to. I don’t have time to do a lot of things that I used to before we started really growing.
But those people I delegate roles to all report to me. I am responsible for what they do. Why would this be any different?
This post was edited on 8/23/25 at 12:08 pm
Posted on 8/23/25 at 12:17 pm to Lsuhoohoo
quote:
I'm actually surprised major CFB hasn't adopted this kind of pro style operations model yet but i think we're going to get there. Where the head coach reports to a GM who has autonomy and direction over a front office operation. In this way, you kind of separate your football operations from your head coach and maintain those operations beyond that coach. Like if we fired Kelly after this year, you still have the front office operation in place and don't have to completely scrap your entire organizational structure. I think this will become more common. A front office that manages player personnel, finances, scouting etc. Coaches worry about coaching.
I actually disagree to a degree. I think for most programs, the coach and the GM will report to the AD (and the President for those who take an active role), who is going to be a much more active participant in operations than most pro sports owners besides Jerry Jones. Many are active to a small degree, just watch the financials, or are completely absentee and have a Team President to handle the business side for them. I don’t think you will see head coaches reporting directly to GMs, but they will develop more autonomy from each other over time.
I think it’s going to take a while for this to take hold across the sport. The top coaches don’t have any incentive to give up the ultimate control that they currently have over their programs. It’s more likely for this model to take hold down the chain of the sport before it filters up as coaches of the top programs are ultimately fired, move on to the NFL, or retire. But I do think it will happen eventually.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 12:39 pm to misey94
quote:
delegate more and more responsibility all the time as a leader of a department in my company. I have to. I don’t have time to do a lot of things that I used to before we started really growing.
But those people I delegate roles to all report to me. I am responsible for what they do. Why would this be any different?
The GM is traditionally the delegator in most football hierarchies.
Sometimes the coach is the de-facto GM, but the coach does not hire the GM.
The idea here as it relates to LSU is Woodward hired Thomas into a support role, not Brian Kelly.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 1:04 pm to Lester Earl
quote:
And you know what is funny, is I think Coach O was 1st to really dip his toe in the water with it years ago. I mean, it was very likely him compensating for his many weaknesses, but it proved to also be cutting edge considering where the sport is going.
Who knew that all we really needed was the binder...
Posted on 8/23/25 at 1:07 pm to Lester Earl
quote:
The idea here as it relates to LSU is Woodward hired Thomas into a support role, not Brian Kelly.
That may be, but do you really think it was without any input or blessing from Kelly? It’s a certainty that it was with his input with they way we are set up today, and it was a smart decision by both, however that shook out.
My point is this input from the coach wouldn’t be the case in the NFL, but it still is in College Football today, and it will continue to be for a while. None of the coaches of the top programs are going to hand over the full authority they currently have over their programs. Full change won’t come to LSU, Bama, Clemson, Texas, A&M, Penn St, ND and others until the current coaches are gone and things are restructured. When it comes to the recruiting focus, the type of players that are being recruited, what traits are focused on, and how the portal will be used, the head coach is going to determine ALL of that. In the pros, it’s the opposite. The GM has ultimate authority over the roster in draft and free agency with input from the coach.
It’s very unlikely any of these current coaches will voluntarily cede any of the authority they currently have, even if they happily hand over some of their day to day responsibilities. They may not be able to fire any of these GM roles without the blessing of the AD, but that doesn’t mean they won’t still have authority over them because of the legacy of the head coach role in the last 25 years of College Football.
This post was edited on 8/23/25 at 1:10 pm
Posted on 8/23/25 at 1:11 pm to Lester Earl
Jake Flint is no way worth $500K his teams have gotten manhandled by Bama, Tx Am, USCe etc.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 6:43 pm to NorthstarinLA
quote:
Jake Flint is no way worth $500K his teams have gotten manhandled by Bama, Tx Am, USCe etc.
that is a wild take imo
Posted on 8/23/25 at 7:13 pm to nicholastiger
quote:
College head coaches are not worth $10 m a year anymore
How much $$$ does football bring in? Mark Stopps at UK is making 9MM and Kelly 9.5MM AND he gave 1MM back to the program two out of his 3 previous seasons. Kelly is middle of the pack when factoring that in.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 7:25 pm to NorthstarinLA
quote:
Jake Flint is no way worth $500K his teams have gotten manhandled by Bama, Tx Am, USCe etc.
Flint is worth every penny. We have not had a strength & conditioning issue. We have had a preparation issue from a mental and schematic standpoint, which has nothing to do with strength & conditioning. I could also argue that we've had some talent/roster issues, and exceeded those talent/roster issues through strength & conditioning.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 7:39 pm to Lester Earl
quote:
Jake Flint at $522,000
Had no idea S&C guys made that much. I would’ve guessed half of that at the high end but I don’t believe I’ve ever sought out that info before. Interesting.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 7:44 pm to misey94
quote:
That may be, but do you really think it was without any input or blessing from Kelly? It’s a certainty that it was with his input with they way we are set up today, and it was a smart decision by both, however that shook out.
I don’t know if Woodward sought Kelly’s input or not on hiring Thomas but I do believe that if Kelly balked at it Woodward would’ve had one response.
“Get over it. I’m hiring him”.
This is now Austin’s third time to work with Scott Woodward. This was a woody hire.
My personal opinion is that Austin and Kelly work together as peers. They’re both on the same rung of the ladder only answering to Woodward. It would be just as impossible for Kelly to fire Austin as it would be for Austin to fire Kelly.
Posted on 8/23/25 at 8:20 pm to CottonWasKing
quote:
Had no idea S&C guys made that much. I would’ve guessed half of that at the high end but I don’t believe I’ve ever sought out that info before. Interesting.
I went down a rabbit hole earlier.
In contrast, Chris Martin in baseball made about $90k last year.
Football has 2-3 other assistant S&C staffers over $100k lol
This post was edited on 8/23/25 at 8:21 pm
Posted on 8/23/25 at 11:06 pm to LSBoosie
The GMs in college doesn’t have quite the autonomy of an NFL GM. Yet.
My guess is most might also go if a head coach is fired as the new coach would bring his own GM. But maybe over time it will get to that level as they know more about the region and scouting local talent for years as that’s our backbone at LSU.
My guess is most might also go if a head coach is fired as the new coach would bring his own GM. But maybe over time it will get to that level as they know more about the region and scouting local talent for years as that’s our backbone at LSU.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 6:43 am to misey94
When it comes to the recruiting focus, the type of players that are being recruited, what traits are focused on, and how the portal will be used, the head coach is going to determine ALL of that.
——————
No. The last few years coaches have come out stating in real time that this part of the job had become hard and unrealistic. Roster management and retaining especially has been onboarded to AT and his group. BK is responsible for what happens on the field and how we prepare for on the field activities. With a cap on available capital (lol) we can’t expect coaches to run the financials (think $ and talent) and be able to prepare for a game. There’s not enough time for that. As mentioned a few times earlier, we were on the cutting edge with this almost a decade ago, and are probably closer to true separation of power than it may seem. No more “but he can’t recruit” and more “can he develop”.
——————
No. The last few years coaches have come out stating in real time that this part of the job had become hard and unrealistic. Roster management and retaining especially has been onboarded to AT and his group. BK is responsible for what happens on the field and how we prepare for on the field activities. With a cap on available capital (lol) we can’t expect coaches to run the financials (think $ and talent) and be able to prepare for a game. There’s not enough time for that. As mentioned a few times earlier, we were on the cutting edge with this almost a decade ago, and are probably closer to true separation of power than it may seem. No more “but he can’t recruit” and more “can he develop”.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 7:47 am to MicahTiger
quote:
No. The last few years coaches have come out stating in real time that this part of the job had become hard and unrealistic. Roster management and retaining especially has been onboarded to AT and his group. BK is responsible for what happens on the field and how we prepare for on the field activities. With a cap on available capital (lol) we can’t expect coaches to run the financials (think $ and talent) and be able to prepare for a game. There’s not enough time for that. As mentioned a few times earlier, we were on the cutting edge with this almost a decade ago, and are probably closer to true separation of power than it may seem. No more “but he can’t recruit” and more “can he develop”.
You are saying something completely different. I don’t disagree that it’s this GM staff’s job to handle roster retention on top of going out and scouting players. I’m saying that Kelly and the coaching staff will still have the ultimate authority on the types of players that staff will scout, the priority order of the roster in terms of retention, and what they are looking for at different positions. In the NFL, the coaches might have varying levels of input, but the GM staff would have more autonomy here.
Ultimately, the coaching staff also still has to do a lot of the boots on the ground work in recruiting, which hasn’t changed in college football. The GM group will be involved, but they are not allowed to go on the road and they still more limited than the coaching staff in what they can do on campus. This is also very different than the NFL and there have been no rule changes to move that needle yet.
Posted on 8/24/25 at 11:30 am to misey94
quote:
I’m saying that Kelly and the coaching staff will still have the ultimate authority on the types of players that staff will scout, the priority order of the roster in terms of retention, and what they are looking for at different positions. In the NFL, the coaches might have varying levels of input, but the GM staff would have more autonomy here.
roster building on both levels has to be symbiotic.
The scouts & personnel team have to know what players fit into the systems, and where the roster deficiencies are. It is that team, for the most part, that is identifying prospects (both hs & college) to fill the roster. The coaches go out and do the leg work in recruiting. It will be Austin Thomas allocating money. Team effort
Posted on 8/24/25 at 6:43 pm to NorthstarinLA
quote:
Jake Flint is no way worth $500K his teams have gotten manhandled by Bama, Tx Am, USCe etc.
I'll leave this here
Posted on 8/24/25 at 6:47 pm to Lester Earl
My understanding is Austin reports to Woodward but Kelly has a lot of say over what kinds of players they sign because why wouldn’t you have your head coach heavily involved in those decisions at least big picture.
In 2025 your head coach does not have the time to scout and work out NIL deals for your high school class and also your portal class. That’s thousands of additional players you have to be out there looking at.
In 2025 your head coach does not have the time to scout and work out NIL deals for your high school class and also your portal class. That’s thousands of additional players you have to be out there looking at.
This post was edited on 8/24/25 at 7:04 pm
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