By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU basketball coach Matt McMahon didn’t exactly answer the question, but he at least touched on the Elephant in the Room – his job security after a second straight terrible season and third in four years.
The Tigers (15-16, 3-15 Southeastern Conference) finished with McMahon’s third SEC season of three wins or less in four seasons at LSU and in dead last for the second time after falling in triple overtime to Texas A&M, 94-91, on Saturday night in another quiet night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
But amazingly, McMahon may be back for year five, mainly because LSU does not want to spend the money to hire the kind of coach it would want to replace him at this time – as in expensive.
Tiger Rag Exclusive: LSU AD Verge Ausberry weighing “fiscal responsibility” with mounting Matt McMahon losses:https://t.co/SnUMP4iIBO
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) February 14, 2026
LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry, who was at the game Saturday, just bought a younger Nick Saban for $91 million over seven years by the name of Lane Kiffin. And he still has that $54 million buyout bill to continue paying for the firing of previous coach Brian Kelly. There is a projected $30 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year.
“We have to be fiscally responsible,” Ausberry said.
“If you ask LSU, I was playing 350 rounds of golf all through the year and drinking in my office.” … Brian Kelly on @DustyDvoracek and @dannykanell radio show Friday:https://t.co/mmnpDcyoKs
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 6, 2026
So McMahon, who has three years left on his seven-year contract and a buyout of about $8 million, is basically on layaway for a year. If injured star point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. returns healthy after foot surgery for next season along with injured junior forward Jalen Reed (Achilles), he will have a fighting chance for a good season next year. Had he had both of those players, or just Thomas, the Tigers would be about 20-11 and 8-10 in the SEC right now and on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
“Their record could be totally different if their point guard didn’t get hurt,” Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan said. “I think they could be right there with anyone in the league. They were a top 25 team coming in (to SEC play last January at 12-1). Losing a point guard like that is such a detrimental loss. It is very unfortunate, because I promise you, this team, all these close games, they could have
come out on the other side of a lot of these games.”
LSU plays valiantly through 3 overtimes, but just prolongs agony in 94-91 loss to Texas A&M to end regular season.https://t.co/JIpeLqtV4i
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 8, 2026
McMahon also has a decent, No. 22-ranked recruiting class coming in of four players.
Also back will be point guard Jalen Reece, who has started to blossom as a freshman. He scored 17 with five assists and three steals and but two turnovers on Saturday. The same can be said of sophomore center Robert Miller III, who scored 12 points with eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
Now if LSU can just give McMahon a fighting chance by getting him out of the SEC roster expenditures cellar and get him enough money to keep Thomas and add a couple of expensive, elite additions. Then he will exit the cellar and then some.
For when McMahon had talent – elite talent such as Ja Morant and others – as the coach at Murray State, he consistently won big – 26-6 (16-2 Ohio Valley), 28-5 (16-2), 31-3 (18-0) with three NCAA Tournaments in three of his last four seasons there.
“Yeah, thanks for the question,” McMahon said when asked after the game why he feels he should be able to return next season as LSU’s coach.
“For me, I’m 47. This is my 30th season in college basketball,” he said. “I’ve just been incredibly blessed and have absolutely nothing but gratitude and appreciation for this opportunity. With that, the 30 years experience, I also understand what comes with the job from an expectation standpoint. And I share in the disappointment and frustration that we haven’t gotten the results we wanted to this last two months. That’s my responsibility.”
McMahon didn’t throw the two, major legitimate reasons (Thomas and Reed injuries) for the season out there as so many coaches of the whining ilk would. Didn’t even mention that. Maybe, because it is obvious to anyone who saw Thomas play in the non-conference season. He made everyone around him better.
“With that said, I absolutely love LSU. I love our core group that returns next year,” McMahon said. “I think we have great administration and leadership teams here at LSU. So, clearly all respect for whatever decisions that they make moving forward.”
Incredibly honest. He sounds like he doesn’t know if he is returning, which is amazing. Either that, or he is just holding back until Ausberry comes out with a public statement that LSU is sticking with McMahon.
It is extremely late in the game if LSU was to make a change. McMahon has one game, maybe two, left in the SEC Tournament, beginning Wednesday in Nashville.
If LSU was going to make a change, I believe Ausberry would’ve done it weeks ago to get first in line for a new coach. But again, he has not sounded like an AD wanting to do that back-to-back after football because of the cost.
“Is it fiscally responsible?,” Ausberry said.
“For me, it’s just critical that we keep our focus on preparing our players for the opportunity next week at the SEC Tournament,” McMahon said.
And then it’s portal time. The window starts right after the Final Four and will run from April 7-21.
It doesn’t look like it through the vast emptiness of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center game after game, loss after loss, but McMahon has made progress. There are several players with eligibility remaining on his roster that he wants to keep for next year. That wasn’t the case last year.
Now give him a fighting chance, LSU, and the money to get a few more.
“I love the opportunity,” McMahon said.
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