The Tigers are cleaning house.
According to multiple reports on Thursday night, LSU and athletic director Scott Woodward are finalizing an exit agreement for Woodward to leave the school. The move comes just days after LSU decided to fire head football coach Brian Kelly. Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger first reported the news.
According to Dellenger, LSU will owe Woodward roughly $6.4 million.
Deputy athletic director Verge Ausberry will serve as the interim AD.
Woodward, who came to LSU in 2019 after serving for more than 3 years in the same capacity at Texas A&M, was instrumental in big-name hires for the football, baseball, and women’s basketball programs.
In 2021, he hired Kim Mulkey from Baylor to lead the LSU women’s basketball team. Mulkey led LSU to its first national championship in 2023.
In 2022, Woodward hired Jay Johnson from Arizona to take over the baseball program. Johnson presided over College World Series titles in 2023 and 2025.
But Kelly was his magnum opus. When LSU made the move and lured Kelly away from Notre Dame in 2021, it was viewed as a “swing for the fences” hire that looked all but certain to push LSU back into national title contention.
Kelly went 34-14 as the LSU coach, helping quarterback Jayden Daniels capture the Heisman Trophy in 2023 and winning each of his 3 bowl games. But LSU had at least 3 losses in each of Kelly’s 4 seasons and never made a College Football Playoff appearance.
The decision to fire him after an embarrassing loss at home to Texas A&M over the weekend put LSU on the hook for close to $54 million. That financial commitment has since drawn the ire of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who publicly lambasted Woodward multiple times throughout the week.
On Wednesday, Landry told reporters from the state capitol that Woodward would not be the one hiring LSU’s next head coach.
It appears Landry got his wish.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
