Brian Kelly Discusses Fake Southern Accent After being Hired as LSU Head Coach

LSU head coach Brian Kelly has had an eventful start to his tenure in Baton Rouge, including a dance video with 5-star quarterback Walker Howard and the debut of a Southern accent when speaking with Tigers fans at an LSU men's basketball game.

On Tuesday, Kelly joined the ESPN broadcast booth for an interview and addressed both moments during LSU's Texas Bowl game against Kansas State (h/t Awful Announcing and Jeff Nowak of Audacy Sports).

"Look, Walker Howard is a 5-star quarterback and, you know that you've got to do what your quarterback asks, right? If he says you've got to dance, why wouldn't you dance?

"Listen, whether it was dancing or I couldn't get my accent down with 'family.' Listen, I'm from Boston. We don't have strong accents."

One would assume that Kelly, who went to high school in the Boston suburb of Danvers, Massachusetts, had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek after the "strong accent" remark.

Regardless, this is as close as the public has gotten to an on-the-record admission that Kelly's Southern accent may not have been authentic.

As for the Texas Bowl, interim coach Brad Davis led the team on the field. Kelly's LSU debut will occur Sept. 4 against Florida State in New Orleans' Caesars Superdome.