LSU leaders: Interim AD Verge Ausberry has ‘full authority’ to hire next football coach
LSU interim athletic director Verge Ausberry was given “full authority” to hire the next Tigers football coach by the school’s board of supervisors on Friday, punctuating a frenetic week in Baton Rouge that included the departures of head coach Brian Kelly and the AD who hired him.
Ausberry and board members John Carmouche and Scott Ballard met with reporters for about 10 minutes, attempting to present a calm and united front two days after Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry blasted now-former athletic director Scott Woodward and tasked the board with finding a new football coach for LSU.
Ausberry said his focus was on “stabilizing” LSU athletics.
“LSU is not broken,” said Ausberry, a former LSU linebacker and longtime administrator at the school who joined the athletic department in 1991. “LSU athletic department is not broken.”
LSU announced Thursday night that it had mutually parted ways with Woodward, who gave Kelly a 10-year, $95 million contract and then fired the coach on Sunday, less than four full seasons into the deal. Kelly is still owed $53 million.
Earlier in the week, Landry criticized the deal and suggested LSU athletics should reconsider how future contracts are structured.
Woodward also has a $6 million contract buyout.
“The governor was not involved,” Carmouche said of Woodward’s departure. “The governor is worried about the state of Louisiana. His concern had to do with the state contract.”
Ballard said the state and taxpayers are not and have never been on the hook for athletic department contracts, which are funded by athletics revenue and donor contributions.
“It does not come from state dollars that are allocated toward other things,” Ballard said.
Ausberry downplayed any concern that Landry’s comments about LSU changing the way it does business would limit candidates for the coaching job.
“Our job, I was told, was to get the best football coach there is, and don’t worry about that at all,” Ausberry said.
Kelly was fired Sunday after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M at Tiger Stadium dropped LSU’s record to 5-3. Ausberry said he was on the field during the game, staring into the stands at empty seats and suites as fans poured out between the third and fourth quarters.
“This program cannot have apathy,” Ausberry said.
LSU interim AD Verge Ausberry: “LSU has to be in the playoff every year in football.”
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoATH) October 31, 2025
The Tigers have four games left, including at No. 4 Alabama on Nov. 8, with Frank Wilson leading the team as interim coach.
LSU also currently has an interim university president, though the board is expected to choose from three finalists next week. Board members said the presidential process would not slow the coaching search and a week’s worth of volatility would not be an obstacle in attracting quality candidates.
Ausberry said a search committee is being formed that will include Ballard and Carmouche to assist in the search.
“We’re LSU. Our phone is still ringing,” Ausberry said. “It’s one of the best jobs in the country. It is the best job in the country at this time. I don’t see any problems bringing the right person to LSU.”
