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ESPN star Ryan Clark ripped into Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday as the search to replace head coach Brian Kelly at LSU began to really heat up.
Clark criticized Landry for his decision to ask the Board of Supervisors to create a committee to search for a new coach instead of athletic director Scott Woodward. Clark, who played college football at LSU, said it was “the second most ridiculous thing,” Landry said this week, highlighting Landry’s support for a statue for the late conservative influencer Charlie Kirk as the first.
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Ryan Clark rejected the idea of installing a statue of Charlie Kirk on the LSU campus. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The Super Bowl champion delivered an emotional speech on “First Take.”
“First of all, that’s the second most ridiculous thing he’s said this week,” Clark said. “The first was to stand on campus and say he wanted to put up a statue of someone who doesn’t represent the people of Louisiana, doesn’t represent the players and students at LSU, doesn’t represent the executives who work there. That was the first stupid thing he said this week. It’s the second stupid thing, among many stupid things he said.
“Scott Woodward, whoever he is, is a man who got Jay Johnson – last time I checked, the 2025 Louisiana State University Tigers baseball team was recently at the White House to ‘get.’ Johnson.”
Clark went on to say that he didn’t appreciate politicians getting involved in the LSU athletic department.
“To me, it’s another situation where politicians stick their noses into things they don’t know about. I honestly believe it was so he could get in front of a microphone and say, ‘Look at this connection I have with the president (Donald Trump) and he likes to pick winners and he can appease someone he idolizes.’ You don’t know anything about football,” he said. “There are enough things going on in the state of Louisiana that need to be fixed for its constituents. I don’t need you tweeting Saturday night about what’s happening at Tiger Stadium. There are too many issues going on under your nose that have nothing to do with sports.
Ryan Clark before a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs on November 4, 2024, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)
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“Scott Woodward is a good man. Scott Woodward is a man who cares about LSU. In the biggest moments, back in the day, he understood what it was like to be part of a winner and he brought more winners to the school. He didn’t fail because Brian Kelly wasn’t capable. He missed because Brian Kelly was no longer willing. Brian Kelly was no longer in demand. Brian Kelly didn’t care if the people of Louisiana cared about him and he didn’t care if the players knew he didn’t care about him That’s where it went wrong Not picking a man who was the all-time winningest coach in Notre Dame history, that’s clearly emotional, and it pisses me off, but Scott Woodward deserves to pick the next head coach and the governor should stay out of it.
PK Press Club Digital has reached out to Landry for comment on Clark’s remarks.
Landry was on “The Pat McAfee Show” to talk about the head coaching search at LSU. McAfee clarified Landry’s arguments regarding LSU’s next head coach and their future contract. Kelly reportedly had a $54 million buyout option.
“The next coach we hire will have an obviously different contract,” Landry said. “If this agent can’t see what’s going on (the pike)… Look, these big name coaches are big names because they win. What are they afraid of? If you’re the best, you shouldn’t have to worry.
“You say, ‘Guess what? I’m putting my reputation on the line. And when I win, that’s the amount of money I want.’ There are no guarantees.”
Landry also supported the erection of a statue of Kirk on campus in honor of the conservative figure.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry records a social media video in front of the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
“We are going to challenge the LSU Board of Supervisors to find a place to put a statue of Charlie Kirk to defend free speech on college campuses,” Landry said in a video posted to his social media.
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Landry was also present at a Turning Point USA event at LSU. He said more than 1,500 people attended the event, which was also attended by best-selling conservative author and podcaster Allie Beth Stuckey.
Kirk was murdered during an event on the Utah Valley University campus in September. His death sparked reactions in the sports world.
