Brian Kelly opens up on viral moments at LSU, questions about his authenticity

Brian Kelly has received his fair share of jests online since coming to LSU in 2022. Most recently, some fans claimed Kelly was putting on a facade for the cameras in Netflix’s SEC Football: Any Given Saturday. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday, Kelly addressed these allegations.

“I can’t think, like, ‘When the camera’s on me, let me come up with something witty.’ I have a hard time pronouncing anyways,” Kelly said. “First time I got out in front of the team, it sounded like I had a southern accent. When you’re a Boston guy who’s been in the Midwest, and you come down to the South — to me, the one thing that’s great about being in the South, people are authentic.

“They are who they are and I think that that’s who I am. That’s my background, and I’m not liked by a lot of people because of that. But, at least at the end of the day, I can walk away and know who I am, and there’s no anything else, but that’s who he is. And, you can like him, you can hate him, whatever. I think that that’s what this series about.”

Kelly was a prominent part of Netflix’s new series. The show opened with a behind-the-scenes look at his life on and off the field. While some fans were quick to criticize Kelly, others liked him even more after the show aired.

It’s far from the first time Kelly has caused a stir. As the 63-year-old head coach mentioned, fans tore into him in 2021, after he seemingly put on a country accent while introducing himself to LSU fans at a basketball game.

College football fans also made fun of Kelly in 2022, when a video went viral of him dancing with recruit Danny Lewis. Lewis ultimately committed to Alabama following the online uproar around the video.

Despite being the subject of several roasts online, Brian Kelly has kept his foot on the gas in Baton Rouge. LSU is entering this season as the No. 9 team in the AP Top 25, and has a massive Week 1 test against No. 4 Clemson. Kelly is embracing the challenge.

“We’ve also been 0-3 in openers at LSU under my watch,” Kelly said. “We needed to do some things differently this year. That is embrace this opener. Embracing it in a manner that this is a big game.

“It’s a tangible goal for our football team to want to be 1-0. That’s not let’s warm up into the season. We want to be ready for this football game. So we’re doing everything in our power to give our players the opportunity for that success.”