Beam the Tigers up, Scotty
Many times at introductory press conferences of a new coach or an athletics director, you usually always feel the hire is still trying to sell themselves.
There’s a sense of urgency in their voices, their mannerisms are a mix of cheerleader and car salesman.
Even though they have the job, it’s like their first order of business is to convince everyone in the room why they were hired.
And then there was new LSU athletics director Scott Woodward’s initial presser Tuesday afternoon in the school’s journalism building, which had the feel of a high school or college reunion.
It’s like Woodward, a 1981 Catholic High and 1985 LSU graduate and former LSU director of external affairs, just picked up the conversation from the point he left off back in 2004 when he followed then-LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert to the University of Washington.
It was if Woodward found his old loafers in a closet in his previous office on campus, slipped them on and breezed through a laid-back press conference in which he quoted an early 1900s author (Thomas Wolfe), a Civil War general (William Tecumseh Sherman), a legendary blues guitarist (B.B. King) and a Baton Rouge cardiologist and fellow Catholic High grad (Carl Luikart).
Before the presser, he met with all of LSU’s head coaches in a group setting.
“It’s just kind of an introductory `Hey, I’m Scott Woodward, I’m the dude who sold peanuts in Tiger Stadium (as a 10-year old)’,” Woodward said of the meeting. “The ones that knew me before when I was here, I’m not any different. The ones I just met today, it was like `Hey, I’m going to be accessible and collaborative in how we do things.' ”
Which means there will be no dramatic changes immediately.
The Dude Who Sold Peanuts in Tiger Stadium abides.
“Doctors take a Hippocratic Oath,” Woodward said, “and part of that is `First do no harm’" That's what we have to do at this incredible institution. Look, we're not going to screw up traditions, we're not going to go about changing things radically.
“So, I'll do a lot of listening. You'll hear all my stupid clichés. One of my favorites is `God gave you two ears and one mouth’ and so I'm going to do a lot of listening.”
And watching. And interacting, not hiding in his office. And being transparent.
In short, he’s all the things that previous LSU athletic director Joe Alleva didn’t care to be.
“I view this job more like an executive producer than an autocratic leader,” Woodward said.
Woodward’s road to becoming a home run hire started in his previous stint at LSU when the 1985 political science graduate was hired by Emmert in 2000.
Emmert sought a lobbyist for LSU's interests in the state legislature. He believed Woodward's background of running political campaigns with James Carville and operating a public relations agency was an attractive combination of qualifications.
Then after LSU when both Emmert and Woodward moved to Washington where Woodward eventually became athletics director in 2008, Woodward began his 11-year trek of adding athletic administration experience to his resume.
After eight years as Washington’s A.D. and the last three years at Texas A&M), Woodward was LSU’s coveted target when it became evident a move would be made to remove Alleva.
LSU Board of Supervisors chairman James Williams asked Jay Dardenne, Louisiana’s Commission of Administration and a past colleague of Woodward, to call Woodward to see if he was interested in replacing Alleva.
“It was a call I couldn’t say `no’ to,” Woodward said.
Dardenne, who had a front row seat for Tuesday’s press conference, said Woodward’s unique skill set and love of LSU and Louisiana make him a perfect fit.
“There’s nothing more political than a college campus, much more so than a state or a city,” said Dardenne, an LSU graduate who has also served as Louisiana’s secretary of state and lieutenant governor. “Scott himself is an excellent politician. He works well with people, he understands how to get things done, he understands how to recognize problems and deal with them appropriately.
“It’s important to have that broad-based skill set to not only deal with the people aspect of the job, but the evolution of the way college sports becomes more and more a business and the more it becomes necessary to make business-minded decisions.”
Verge Ausberry, an LSU athletic administrator since 2001 and currently a senior associate athletic director since 2016, said he’s known Woodward before his first LSU stint and he feels he can get everyone on the same page.
“We have so many different constituents in our business,” Ausberry said. “We have students, coaches, alumni, donors at different level, faculty, staff, vice-presidents and board members.
“There are a lot of constituents you have to keep happy in higher education and a lot of constituents have different beliefs. Scott’s strong suit will be pulling those constituents together.”
Woodward certainly understands how interwoven LSU is with the fabric of Louisiana. He lived it and breathed it in person for more than half of his life.
“My former boss Mark Emmert and even my good friend James Carville have said there’s no university more important to its state than LSU is to Louisiana,” Woodward said. “That passion and how we do it, whether it’s on the football field on in the physics classroom, is paramount to what this state’s success is all about.”
Woodward also understands the bottom line is producing championship programs, which is why he’s not afraid to make tough decisions in firing head coaches and bold moves in hiring replacements.
He fired sixth-year Texas A&M head football coach Kevin Sumlin at the end of the 2017 season. Earlier that year in May at the SEC spring business meetings, Woodward said publicly that “Coach Sumlin knows he has to win, he has to win this year, he has to do better than he has done in the past.”
Woodward also fired eighth-year Aggies’ men’s basketball coach Billy Kennedy last month, just a year after A&M advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the second time in a three-year period. At the start of April, Woodward hired Virginia Tech’s Buzz Williams to fill the vacancy.
At any school when a new athletics director is hired, head coaches are uneasy because they understand they have to impress the new boss.
Woodward said Tuesday there’s an art to assessing sports programs to see if any changes need to be made.
“You have to look at these programs not only from a wins and losses standpoint,” Woodward said, “but what kind of experience your kids are having, what's the future look like, are we recruiting well and are we recruiting the right kinds of kids.
“They're hard decisions (firing coaches), but you just have to be straightforward and honest with them and say expectations are or aren't being met. We will do that. We will be transparent.”
Woodward made it clear Tuesday that he’s admired LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron over the years.
“He knows how to do it at the highest level,” Woodward said of Orgeron. “I saw them kick our ass at USC recruiting when I was at UW. He knows how to get it done.”
Orgeron, who attended the press conference, noted that he’ll forever be indebted to Alleva for hiring him. But he likes what he’s heard about Woodward.
“Scott seems like he’s more of a hands-on guy that’s going to be around, which I invite,” Orgeron said. “He’s transparent, we’re transparent. I think we’ll get along fine.”
Woodward’s relationship with men’s basketball coach Will Wade has yet-to-be determined. One of Alleva’s last acts as athletic director was to reinstate Wade, who had been suspended since the last game of the regular season for his alleged involvement in a federally-investigated recruiting scandal.
“I need to be briefed and I need to find out what's going on,” said Woodward, who said he has not yet met privately with Wade. “But Coach Wade is LSU's coach, and until then he's going to have my 100 percent support.”
Based on the speed of Woodward’s last two major hires at A&M, it wouldn’t be surprising he already has a short list to replace Wade if it becomes necessary.
Woodward likes to solve problems quickly.
“If we're not rowing the boat in this direction,” Woodward said, “we're going to get our butts kicked in Tuscaloosa, we're going to get our butts kicked in Opelika (Auburn), we're going to get our butts kicked in Gainesville, and trust me, I have no intention of doing that.
“So I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that we're rowing this thing in the right direction.”
Here are your oars, Scott.
Start paddling.