LSU football coach Brian Kelly pays up during press conference

LSU football coach Brian Kelly has a unique sense of humor. The former Notre Dame front man has already gotten his fair share of air time on national stations, but not necessarily for his team’s performances on the field. Rather, he’s garnered a lot of attention due to the interactions he’s had with the Baton Rouge media throughout the last couple of weeks.

The Tigers brought the Fighting Irish’s all-time winningest coach to Baton Rouge to provide some program-wide stability after former coach Ed Orgeron rocked the boat a bit over the last couple of years. As it turns out, Kelly isn’t only holding his team accountable. He’s holding his staff, the local media and himself responsible for their actions, as well, and he proved that on Monday.

LSU football coach Brian Kelly pays up for being late to his press conference

Kelly went viral following LSU’s loss to Florida State when he tried to make a subtle comment to a reporter who was late to the following week’s press conference. The reporter jabbed back at Kelly, suggesting that if the Tigers win, maybe she would be on time. It ended up being a lot bigger deal than it actually was at the time, but it wasn’t a great look following the defeat.

When making those sarcastic remarks to the reporter though, Kelly mentioned how tardiness usually resulted in a $10 fine. This would come back to bite him in the behind just one week later.

Kelly strolled into his weekly press conference on Monday a few minutes later than usual. He definitely realized the irony of the situation. Instead of facing any awkward questions about it during the ensuing interview, the 60-year-old decided to have some fun with it.

Before anybody in the Lawton Room could get in a question or sly comment, Kelly whipped a $10 bill out of his jacket and held it up for the room to see. He took responsibility for being late before praising the media for being present on time and proceeded to partake in his scheduled press conference. It was a funny moment following a win against Southern that helped diffuse the tension—which is always a big elephant in the room in Baton Rouge.

It must be said that Kelly should owe $20 based on his own previous comments. The Tigers’ head coach jokingly told a late staffer earlier in the year that being late cost staff twice as much as the media. It remains to be seen whether or not he’ll actually host reporters at his Louisiana home at the end of the year for a party. If this incident is anything to go off, he’ll pay his dues again.

Regardless, let’s all hope this is the last we hear about penalties and fines for being late during Kelly’s regularly scheduled meetings with the Baton Rouge media.