Kim Mulkey Impressed With How Brian Kelly “Took A Charge” For The Team

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU football coach Brian Kelly, a former linebacker at Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts, showed excellent lateral movement and backpedaling during his Tigers’ win at Clemson on Saturday, but he still took a scary spill on the sidelines after a play.

Kelly, 63, got right back up, though, much like his team, which overcame two fumbles, a failed fourth-down try at No. 4 Clemson’s 12-yard line and a missed field goal, but still won, 17-10.

WHY BRIAN KELLY’S WIN AT CLEMSON WAS BIGGER THAN HIS WIN OVER NICK SABAN

“It’s a 15-yard penalty if you make any contact with an official,” Kelly explained at his press conference on Tuesday. “So, I was backing up, and I saw that I wasn’t going to be able to get out of the way. So I headed the other way and caught my feet on somebody behind me. And I went over, just to stay out of his way. So, I took one for the team.”

And four-time LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey, a former national champion point guard at Louisiana Tech, was impressed and said so on Twitter.

So proud of @LSUfootball win tonight, but just as proud of the charge @CoachBrianKelly took for the team on the sideline…great form😉! See you in Death Valley next weekend! #GeauxTigers 💜💛🤍 https://t.co/d3Q23Ya0CG

— Kim Mulkey (@KimMulkey) August 31, 2025

No. 3 LSU (1-0) plays Mulkey’s former school, Louisiana Tech (1-0), Saturday in Tiger Stadium (6:30 p.m., ESPN+, SEC Network+).

“Never hit him,” Kelly said. “If I would’ve hit the referee, it would’ve been a 15-yard penalty. That’s why I was like, ‘I can’t touch him.’ So, I moved myself out of the way. As you saw, I got up on my own without assistance.”