Notre Dame coach defends ‘joke’ where he said football team should be executed in flippant comment after near-upset against Florida State
- Brian Kelly told reporters: ‘I’m in favor of execution. Maybe our entire team needs to be executed after tonight,’ Sunday night
- The Fighting Irish coach made his comments after his team defeated Florida State 41-38 in overtime
- Kelly said he was joking, and compared his remarks to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay
- During the Buccaneers’ first season in 1976, McKay was asked about his team’s execution after his team went 0-14, to which McKay replied: ‘I’m in favor of it.’
- Kelly’s comments garnered mixed reactions on social media, with a majority of fans questioning his words, while others came to his defense
Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly defended making a flippant comment about executing his entire team because of challenges they faced in near-upset against Florida State on Sunday.
When ABC’s Katie George asked the Fighting Irish coach what he thought about Florida State’s unforeseen comeback, Kelly replied: ‘I’m in favor of execution. Maybe our entire team needs to be executed after tonight. We just didn’t execute very well.’
Kelly said he was joking, and compared his remarks to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay following Sunday’s 41-38 overtime win against Florida State.
When ABC’s Katie George (right) asked Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly (left) what he thought about Florida State’s unforeseen comeback, Kelly replied, ‘I’m in favor of execution. Maybe our entire team needs to be executed after tonight. We just didn’t execute very well.’
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly watches a replay on the big screen during the NCAA football game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Florida State Seminoles
‘It’s an old John McKay quote,’ Kelly explained to reporters. ‘I was kidding. It was tongue-in-cheek. It wasn’t funny? … I was talking and making a joke about it. It was taken serious? Are you people crazy?’
Kelly is referring to the Buccaneers’ first season in 1976, when McKay once was asked about his team’s execution after his team went 0-14.
McKay replied: ‘I’m in favor of it.’
Kelly was visibly upset that his team almost faced an upset in their first game of the season, after they were 18-0 in the final 13:42 of regulation, despite leading 38-20 entering the fourth quarter.
Kelly’s comments garnered mixed reactions on social media, with a majority of fans questioning his words, while others came to his defense.
Kelly said he was joking, and compared his remarks to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay (pictured) following Sunday’s 41-38 overtime win against Florida State
‘Yes, he sure did. Appropriate for someone on Game of Thrones, not from a football coach,’ one user wrote on Twitter.
‘It was intended to be a joke but was inappropriate during these times,’ wrote another.
Notre Dame’s Jonathan Doerer won the game with a 41-yard field goal, while the team’s quarterback Jack Coan was 26-for-35 with 366 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Up next the team will face the Toledo Rockets in its next game, while Florida State will play Jacksonville State.