Being Right and Being Wrong at the Same Time
There are moments in leadership when you can be absolutely right — and still completely wrong. The recent intervention by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry in Louisiana State University’s athletic affairs is one of those moments.
Let’s start with where he’s right. The governor’s frustration with the absurdity of college coaching contracts is entirely justified. Paying a football coach tens of millions of dollars not to coach is hard to explain to taxpayers, alumni, faculty, and donors alike. LSU’s reported $53 million buyout for Brian Kelly is an extreme example, but it’s not unique. Universities across the country have normalized “golden parachutes” for coaches, while academic programs scrape for funding and staff salaries remain stagnant. These deals are unsustainable, tone-deaf, and — frankly — bad stewardship of public resources.
In that respect, Governor Landry is channeling what many citizens feel: frustration that higher education has lost its fiscal discipline. He’s also highlighting an uncomfortable truth — athletic spending has outpaced academic investment in many flagship universities. So yes, he’s right to question whether these contracts make sense and who’s ultimately accountable for them.
But being right doesn’t excuse being reckless. The way he made his point — publicly, forcefully, and by bypassing the university president — undermines the very governance structure that keeps institutions credible and stable. A governor can and should raise questions, but when that concern turns into interference, it crosses a line. A university president must be empowered to lead. Once political leaders start directing coaching hires or athletic department decisions, the autonomy that defines higher education begins to erode.
More practically, the governor’s approach may backfire. The very type of coach LSU wants — high-caliber, proven, in-demand — will think twice about accepting a job where the governor appears to run the athletic department. And the optics of also paying the athletic director $6 million to leave, on top of massive coaching payouts, only deepen the irony. It’s hard to lecture about fiscal restraint while signing another golden parachute check.
The lesson is timeless: the right message delivered the wrong way can do more harm than good. Leadership isn’t just about being correct — it’s about timing, tone, and deference. The right words, spoken at the right moment and through the right channels, can inspire change. The same words, delivered impulsively or publicly, can alienate the very people needed to solve the problem.
Governor Landry is right about the problem. He’s wrong about the process. And as every leader eventually learns, how you say something often matters more than what you say.
