The Story Behind LSU Coach Brian Kelly's Blue Dog Lapel Pin

LSU Head Football Coach Brian Kelly knows how to dress up when it’s time to get in front of the camera, and there’s one accessory you may have noticed in recent interviews.

Sure, Coach Kelly knows the style he likes and he loves his massive shoe collection, but have you ever noticed the lapel pin he often wears for his press conferences?

Kelly is a huge fan of the Blue Dog brand and he reportedly has several of the paintings in his Baton Rouge home, but one thing he did not have was the Blue Dog lapel pin until he saw it on the jacket of LSU-Super Fan Kevin Fontenot.

While at an LSU fundraiser a few years ago, Coach Kelly was greeting fans and that is when he walked up to Fontenot and his wife, Dr. Lauren Zatarain, and Kelly immediately noticed the Blue Dog pin on Fontenot’s jacket.

The LSU coach could not help but compliment the pin and even start to touch it while conversing with the Baton Rouge couple. Knowing how much Kelly loves the Blue Dog brand, Kevin tells me he knew he had to get the Blue Dog lapel pin for the new LSU coach.

Upon returning home from the fundraising event, Fontenot ordered Coach Kelly his pin and the rest is history.

When the lapel pin arrived, the LSU fans sent it to LSU Football operations, with a hand-written note welcoming Kelly and his family to Baton Rouge, and now Coach Kelly is often seen wearing it while sitting or standing behind the microphones.

So, the next time you see Coach Kelly being interviewed by the media, see if he’s wearing the lapel pin he loves and had to have.

Here’s Kelly’s interview from SEC Media Day, and yes, you see the Blue Dog lapel pin with him while he takes the stage.