Head coach has meltdown during press conference

Even as LSU kicked a game-tying field goal to make it a 20-20 game with under two minutes to play, its head coach, Brian Kelly, looked displeased. The Tigers missed out on a couple of scoring opportunities, with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier missing a potential first down (and touchdown). They gave USC the ball back with enough time to march down and leave Las Vegas with a W.

Kelly had every right to be displeased. But he was even more displeased in his postgame press conference as he took out the frustrations plaguing him on the sidelines during the 27-20 loss to Lincoln Riley’s side. We can only imagine what was said in the locker room, but Kelly had a full-fledged meltdown, completely exasperated with his team losing a fifth-straight season opener (third straight under him).

As he talked to reporters in the bowels of Allegiant Stadium, the LSU head coach slammed his first through the table, seemingly taking out his frustrations. He pointed the finger at himself but also did not absolve his players of blame.

“Hell, yes. Hell, yes,” Kelly said in response to his question about it being disappointing that certain players performed only to leave Week 1 with a loss. “And that’s what I said to the team, I said, ‘We had some guys play their butts off tonight, and we’re sitting here (*slams fist)* again talking about the same things. About not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put ’em away.’ But what we’re doing on the sideline is feeling that the game’s over.

“And I’m so angry about it that I gotta do something about it. I’m not doing a good enough job as a coach. And I gotta coach ’em better because it’s unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game. It’s ridiculous and crazy.”

According to The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel, Kelly continued to take aim at his own team, saying that it was the first time since he’s been at LSU that he’s been angry at his football team. He was particularly perturbed by personal fouls that put the Trojans in a position to score and was even more bothered by the Tigers’ lack of a killer instinct, as they weren’t able to put USC away.

Part of not putting Southern Cal away was allowing Miller Moss to make the plays when needed, which led to Kelly saying that he outplayed Nussmeier.

And while Kelly is angry, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum doesn’t want to hear it. The college football analyst also insisted on Get Up on Monday morning that his callers, who represent the heart and soul of SEC Country, don’t want to hear it either.

“When Brian Kelly walked into the press conference and showed emotion, then it was too late. I don’t want to hear it after the game,” said Finebaum. “I don’t want to see his fist through the table after the game. I want to see it before the game and during the game; it’s on him. And don’t give me this, ‘I need to do a better job coaching.’ You’re paid $11 million to do the coaching into the game and throughout the game, not acting after the game.”

We’ll have to see if Kelly’s actions after the game actually affect his team. Not that their season would’ve been over with a nonconference loss on a neutral site to a potential Playoff team before, but the expanded College Football Playoff has allowed for the margin of error to be more than a loss in Week 1.

That said, we’ll need to see a bit more from Kelly if his team has any plans of running through the SEC because, as Finebuam, Joey Galloway, and Marcus Spears argued on ESPN on Labor Day, LSU might be the fifth or sixth best team in the conference.

It’s not to say that Kelly’s points in his postgame press conference aren’t valid, but few people have the patience to listen to one of the richest coaches in the country bemoan his players’ undiscipline when the honus ultimately falls on him.

[ Awful Announcing ]

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