Brian Kelly apologizes for berating reporter over question about LSU's offensive struggles

LSU football coach Brian Kelly berated a reporter on Saturday who asked about his team's offensive struggles in the aftermath of its win over Florida.

On Monday, Kelly apologized publicly for the outburst and said that he'd texted WBRZ-TV sports director Michael Cauble to apologize to him directly. Kelly opened his Monday news conference with the apology.

"I've texted with Mike and offered my apology to him for the way I handled the questioning," Kelly said. "I think it's important to understand that you know, my standards relative to how we work with the media on a day-to-day basis, need to be higher, and I take responsibility for that, and I'll be better in the future."

Kelly cited postgame emotions and his desire to defend his players for the outburst.

"The emotions of a game, right after it," Kelly continued. "I haven’t watched any film. It’s difficult to make those assessments of specifics. And I’m gonna defend my team. I’m gonna defend my players first and foremost."

"Having said that, I publicly apologize to Mike. He’s an outstanding reporter, he works hard. And we’ll do better moving forward."

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LSU has offensive concerns despite 3-0 start

LSU improved to 3-0 with Saturday's 20-10 win. But for the second time in two games against power conference competition, its offense failed to impress as it accounted for just 13 points and didn't score in the second half.

The Tigers produced 10 first downs for the game against 23 for the Gators, which held a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in time of possession. An offense featuring Heisman hopeful quarterback Garrett Nussmeier scored a single touchdown in the game.

What Kelly said to prompt apology

Cauble asked Kelly in his postgame news conference "what are you seeing with your offense?"

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Here's Kelly's response:

“Stop. Really? Is that the first question?" Kelly responded. "We won the game, 20-10. Try another question. What do you want me to tell you. I just laid it out for you. We played the game to win the game. We played the game to win the game."

Cauble followed up with a question about LSU's struggles on third down after the Tigers converted 4 of 14 opportunities against the Gators.

“It’s one game,” Kelly continued. “Last game we were great on third down. You’re micro — you’re looking at this from the wrong perspective. LSU won the football game. Won the game. I don't know what you want from me.

"What do you want? Do you want us to win 70-0 against Florida to keep you happy?

Cauble then inquired, "I think we want to know why you can't run the ball."

“We can run the ball," Kelly said. "Did you see the last play of the game? That’s all you need. You just need one. Those are ridiculous questions. And I’m getting tired of it.

"That football team just worked their tail off to get an SEC win and you want to know what’s wrong. You know what? You’re spoiled. You’re spoiled. This team is 17-1 at night. 17-1. Give them some respect. How about that? Give them some respect instead of micro-analyzing every little thing. This is ridiculous.

"For a group of seasoned reporters, that kind of question is so out of line."

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