Believe it or not, as with pretty much anything in Louisiana, there’s gubernatorial precedent for the state meddling in LSU football affairs. Gov. Jeff Landry seemed to take pleasure in denying the athletic director any say in hiring Brian Kelly’s successor, but at least Scott Woodward got to fire him. Huey Long not only dismissed an LSU football coach while governor, the Kingfish canned the band director, too.
Of course, Louisiana is, well, different. Less a state than a rogue nation. Also boasts more good food and football players per capita than anywhere.
Anyway, the governor or whoever’s in charge over there created another opening in a field with more vacancies than candidates, meaning we could feel the ripple effects here in the Lone Star State.
Lane Kiffin, not so long ago a pariah, is everyone’s favorite for LSU or Florida. But, if Kelly’s $54 million buyout becomes a factor, as Landry has indicated, LSU might opt for something more economical.
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Rhett Lashlee has been mentioned frequently for Arkansas, though the thinking is he wouldn’t leave SMU for Fayetteville. Even if it’s home, it’s a tough gig. LSU is a different matter entirely. As indicated above, you’d have a pretty good roster if all you did was lock down the borders of the state. Also, unlike Arkansas, LSU competes for national titles.
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On the other hand, LSU is a political nightmare, as Scott Woodward will tell you. You don’t often watch a governor kneecap a sitting athletic director. Bad for aesthetics. It’s not that boosters or other interested parties don’t go over the AD’s head in other places. They just don’t do it on television.
Bum Bright, then chairman of Texas A&M’s Board of Regents, hired Jackie Sherrill in 1982 after a failed run at Michigan’s Bo Schembechler while Wally Groff, basically the business manager, watched. Chris Del Conte wanted to replace Tom Herman with Sonny Dykes, but Kevin Eltife, chairman of Texas’ regents, hired Steve Sarkisian instead. Andy Enfield was hired by David Miller, whose name decorates the gym floor at Moody Coliseum, not Rick Hart, SMU’s former AD.
Ross Bjork tried to hire Kentucky’s Mark Stoops to replace Jimbo Fisher, only to be shot down by boosters preferring Mike Elko, whom they knew from his term as Jimbo’s defensive coordinator. Turns out they knew better than Bjork, now at Ohio State.
Elko is a coach’s coach, respected by peers as well as the state’s high school ranks. He’s led the Aggies to an 8-0 start and pole position for the playoff atop the SEC. Plus, he’s the guy who got Kelly fired, which didn’t seem to hurt the feelings of anyone outside the Kelly household.
Elko doesn’t appear to be a candidate for LSU, but he’s getting lots of love for James Franklin’s old job at Penn State. Especially since Matt Rhule, a Penn State alum, signed an extension at Nebraska. A New Jersey native, Elko was an Ivy League safety at Penn. Other than two stretches in College Station, he’s spent the rest of his life east of the Mississippi. All things considered, he seems like a natural fit for Happy Valley.
But I’m guessing he’ll remain at A&M for a couple of reasons: He looks like he might be tied up with the Aggies’ first College Football Playoff run, and if he should win their first national title since 1939, they’d probably rename the town after him.
Elko Station?
Elko City?
Just plain Elko?
Let’s think about it.
Point is, the longer the Aggies’ season goes, the less likely their head coach leaves for another school. One of the reasons a dozen jobs are already open is because they’re out to get ahead of the rush. Programs can’t wait until the middle of January to hire a proven coach. And a coach in the playoffs can’t afford to be caught talking to other schools on the side. Like setting your career on fire.
Frankly, that’s what might keep Kiffin at Ole Miss, where, for the first time in his peripatetic life, he looks genuinely happy. Even if he seems the natural heir to the ol’ Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier. There’s something to be said for coaching at a place where they’ve never won and, if you do, no one asks when you’ll do it again. Although, come to think of it, it didn’t work out so hot for Bruce Bochy.
Of the state’s other coaches who might be candidates elsewhere, Willie Fritz ought to be on LSU’s radar if they can get past the fact that he’s 65. Before taking over Houston, where he has the Cougars off to a 7-1 start in his second year, he presided over Tulane’s greatest run since World War II. Texas State’s G.J. Kinne was a hot candidate for Oklahoma State, though the Cowboys’ ardor might have cooled since the Bobcats lost four straight, including a 32-point blowout Tuesday at the hands of James Madison. In San Marcos, no less.
Eric Morris, in the midst of a historic season at North Texas, is an attractive prospect for several schools. Especially if he brings his quarterback and defensive coordinator with him.
And, as noted previously, Lashlee is one of the state’s hottest coaches. If his Mustangs upset 10th-ranked Miami on Saturday at Ford Stadium, he could move to the top of everyone’s shopping lists while giving SMU a legitimate shot at its second straight College Football Playoff berth. If he loses, he just might be available.
On Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
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