LSU AD Verge Ausberry claims football program under Brian Kelly had 'no connection' to Tigers fans

The offseason has provided no shortage of entertainment, and at this point, it seems like no coach or administrator in the SEC wants to be left out. This time, it’s former LSU coach Brian Kelly in the crosshairs of current Tigers athletics director Verge Ausberry.

Ausberry conducted an exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports on the state of his program. In it, he lambasted Kelly for making very few attempts to connect with the base at LSU.

He didn’t name Brian Kelly, but clearly referenced the previous coach. He did so as a way of talking up new coach Lane Kiffin.

“You have to go do some things with alumni and do things with boosters and do things with fundraising, with NIL. You have to be a part of that,” Ausberry said. “That’s what Lane will do. … He’ll go out there and have that conversation with the donors and the people who support the program and (say), ‘We need your help,’ and give them his cell number.

“He’s not one who’ll say, ‘OK, I don’t want people to contact me. I don’t want people to touch me. I don’t want people to be around me.’ That’s who we had. That’s why we got what we got. There was no feel, there was no connection between the LSU football program, the coach, and the fans.”

Kelly was fired despite putting together a fairly respectable overall record. He went 34-14 at LSU, winning 10 games in each of his first two seasons. But it also wasn’t clear he could get over the hump. LSU won nine games in Kelly’s third year and was 5-3 when he was fired midway through his fourth.

Much has been made of Kelly’s fit with the program, which, to some, seemed off from Day 1. Kelly was scrutinized heavily after attempting to imitate a southern accent early on at LSU. While it was mostly rivals that latched on, it became a sort of signature jab at the long-time head coach.

Now Kiffin steps in. The former Ole Miss coach has drawn no shortage of headlines himself, including throwing shade at his former program.

So far, though, Kiffin seems to be connecting with the base in ways that Brian Kelly did not. The Tigers are red hot on the recruiting trail, boasting the nation’s No. 10 class with only five recruits — two of whom are five-star prospects.

Results in the offseason only matter so much. But for now, it’s clear that at least Ausberry, the current LSU athletics director, feels much better about the direction the program is headed.