Sport2 min(s) read
Published 13:45 07 Sep 2021 GMT
A college football coach has gone viral after suggesting his players should be "executed" following their opening game of the season.
Brian Kelly, the head coach of Notre Dame University's football team, was asked about his team's performance by an ESPN reporter in a post-game interview.
Notre Dame's team - dubbed the Fighting Irish - was at one point losing a double-digit lead, but ultimately ended up winning 41-38 during overtime at Florida State.
Speaking to the reporter after the game, Kelly said: "I'm in favor of execution. Maybe our entire team needs to be executed after tonight. We just didn't execute very well."
Kelly's blunt comment, which was said along with a blank face, caused a stir to viewers at home.
People flocked to social media to check whether they heard what they thought they did.
Apparently, Kelly was 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."
Defending his comment after backlash, Kelly told reporters in Tallahassee, per ESPN: "It's a John McKay quote that he used after a game.
"I was stealing one of his old quotes and being funny, because nobody likes to be funny anymore. If you want to take me to town on that, please do."
Unfortunately for Kelly, it seems like the reference was lost on most people, with a clip of the incident quickly going viral on social media.
He went on: "It's an old John McKay quote.
"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?"
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.
