Sports News

LSU coach Brian Kelly claims people from Boston ‘don’t have strong accents’

The Massachusetts native made his bizarre claim during an in-game interview.

By Hayden Bird

January 5, 2022

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The Bruins defeated the Devils on Tuesday night, 5-3. It was Boston’s third win in a row in 2022.

Tonight, the Celtics host the Spurs at 7:30 p.m.

And on Sunday, the Patriots will face the Dolphins in the regular season finale at 4:25 p.m.

Brian Kelly’s take on Boston accents: Former Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly recently left to take the same position at LSU. The 60-year-old will take over next season, but stopped by the television broadcast booth during LSU’s loss to Kansas State on Tuesday in the Texas Bowl.

During the in-game interview, Kelly referenced a moment in December shortly after he had been named the new LSU coach when he spoke to fans at a basketball game. Though he was born in Everett, Massachusetts and grew up in the Boston area, Kelly appeared to put on a southern accent when speaking to the crowd, a decision which drew humorous responses.

On Tuesday night, Kelly tried to address two viral moments from his short time in Baton Rouge, including his newfound southern accent. In doing so, he made an interesting observation about Boston accents.

“Listen, whether it was dancing [with QB recruit Walker Howard] or I couldn’t get my accent down with ‘family,'” Kelly recounted. “Listen, I’m from Boston. We don’t have strong accents.”

Whether Kelly meant it sarcastically or not wasn’t clear. As has been pointed out, it wouldn’t have been the first time a joke of his missed its mark.

Trivia: The Patriots currently have two former LSU players on the team’s roster. Can you name both of them?

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: One is a defensive back, the other is a defensive lineman.

More from Boston.com:

• ‘He certainly looks the part’: Bruce Cassidy hints Tuukka Rask could be nearing return
• Pastrnak scores tiebreaker in 3rd, Bruins beat Devils 5-3
• Have the Bruins found a winning formula? Takeaways from Bruins-Devils
• ‘My body feels a lot better’: Here’s what Jayson Tatum said about his second bout with COVID-19
• Dropping Ken Rosenthal from MLB Network is Rob Manfred’s latest blunder
• Breaking down possible Patriots playoff opponents
• Washington NFL team to reveal new name on Feb. 2; won’t be RedWolves
• Peter King predicted which team he thinks the Patriots will face in the playoffs

Josh McDaniels on the Patriots’ offense:

On this day: In 1986, the Patriots beat the Raiders 27-20 to advance to the first AFC Championship game in team history. However, the headlines afterward were dominated instead by a postgame scuffle between New England general manager Pat Sullivan and Raiders linebacker Matt Millen.

What initially began as a postgame argument between Sullivan and Raiders defensive end Howie Long (who said the Patriots’ executive had been trash-talking him from the sideline throughout the game) turned into a larger incident when Millen noticed what was going on.

“I saw some guy swing at Howie,” Millen told reporters afterward. “I didn’t know who the moron was, so I swung at him.”

In reality, Sullivan—son of Patriots’ owner Billy Sullivan—had not tried to punch Long.

“I pushed him and he grabbed my facemask,” Long explained. “That’s when Matt got a little hair of the twerp’s head.”

It was the latest chapter in an ongoing Patriots-Raiders rivalry.

“He grabbed my hair, then pulled my head back and hit me with his helmet,” Sullivan said of Millen.

“It was a blindside, a real brave move,” Sullivan added.

Daily highlight: Cale Makar’s dazzling agility and skill led to an overtime winning goal for the Avalanche on Tuesday night.

Trivia answer: Davon Godchaux, Jalen Mills