The drumbeat in Baton Rouge has grown deafening. After four seasons of futility and a program anchored to the bottom of the SEC, LSU basketball fans are demanding the firing of head coach Matt McMahon — and the administration appears to be listening.
Heading into last season, McMahon was already on the hot seat and had the best odds to be the first college basketball coach fired. While he lasted the season, the results have finally caught up to him, despite a sizeable buyout and four years left on his contact.
The latest accelerant: On Wednesday, On3’s Joe Tipton reported that star guard Dedan Thomas Jr. is entering the transfer portal. The 6-foot-1 junior averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists per game this season before a foot injury ended his year. He was LSU’s best player by a wide margin. His departure leaves the program with almost nothing to build on.
No NCAA Tournament Appearances
The numbers are damning. LSU finished 14–18 this season, going 3–15 in SEC play to finish last for the third time in McMahon’s four years.
The Tigers were bounced in the first round of the SEC Tournament by Mississippi State for the second straight year. McMahon’s overall record at LSU stands at 60–69, with a 17–55 mark in conference play.
The fans have had enough. “Four years and no tournament — that’s something you got to look into,” one supporter told the Advocate. “You don’t want to go into next season and make it five.” Another was blunter: “Program was in shambles when he arrived, but it’s probably time.”
Seats have been empty. Boos have echoed through the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The patience is gone.
Bad Injury Luck
McMahon’s defenders point to a brutal injury toll as necessary context. Forward Jalen Reed tore his Achilles in just the sixth game of the season. Thomas injured his foot the day before SEC play began, reaggravated it three weeks later, and required season-ending surgery, appearing in just three conference games.
Senior guard Max Mackinnon stood behind his coach: “We lost our two best players at the start of the year. We fought, and this guy never changed. Every day, he made me a better player.”
McMahon has been measured in public. “I’ll respect whatever decisions they make moving forward,” he said after the SEC Tournament.
The injury argument has merit. But three last-place finishes, four straight years outside the NCAA Tournament, and a 17–55 SEC record exhaust whatever goodwill context buys.
The Buyout Problem
That goodwill is now colliding with an $8 million buyout.
McMahon signed a seven-year deal in March 2022 through 2029, and firing him without cause triggers 80 percent of his remaining salary, roughly $8 million for McMahon plus an additional $2 million for his staff.
LSU already carries Brian Kelly’s $54 million football buyout and Lane Kiffin’s new $91 million contract. Athletic director Verge Ausberry put it plainly in a recent interview: “We just have to be careful about firing coaches.”
Nevertheless, sources indicate LSU has secured the funds to move on.
Will Wade Looms
The name circulating in Baton Rouge is Will Wade.
The former LSU coach pushed out in 2022 amid NCAA violations rebuilt his reputation at McNeese State before landing at NC State, where he went 20–14 and reached the NCAA Tournament in year one. Bringing him back would cost LSU both McMahon’s buyout and Wade’s $5 million buyout from NC State, which drops to $3 million after April 1. Wade would also want a roster budget of $12–$13 million, compared to McMahon’s $8 million this past season.
The political machinery is already moving. Governor Jeff Landry and Board of Supervisors chairman Lee Mallett, who tried to bring Wade back last offseason before former AD Scott Woodward blocked it, now hold considerably more influence over LSU athletics. Woodward is gone.
NC State fans are understandably nervous. As one Wolfpack insider wrote Wednesday: “Signs are pointing rather strongly at Will Wade leaving NC State for LSU.”
