LOOK: Brian Kelly welcomes LSU legend, NFL Hall of Famer to practice
New LSU coach Brian Kelly continued his series of visits with LSU legends by welcoming NFL Hall of Famer Kevin Mawae to spring practice. In a picture posted Thursday by LSU Football on Twitter, the two are seen on the field having a conversation.
Kevin Mawae returns to LSU nearly 30 years after he played for the Tigers, who are now under the control of Brian Kelly and his staff. During his time on campus, Mawae was a two-time All-SEC selection at center. He then played 16 years in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.
Over his time in the NFL, Mawae became an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and seven-time first-team All-Pro on the offensive line. Shortly after retiring, he entered the coaching field with the Chicago Bears, then working at Arizona State before taking his current position as assistant offensive line coach with the Indianapolis Colts.
Brian Kelly adjusting at LSU
Brian Kelly was accustomed to life in South Bend, Indiana for 12 years before making the cross-country move to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While Kelly jumped from being the head football coach at Notre Dame to the head man at LSU, he also changed the overall, everyday outlook of his life – and that’s not an easy task.
However, Kelly has made Louisiana his new home – and he’s seemed to adjust quite well. Although Baton Rouge, Louisiana is much, much different than South Bend, Indiana, the coach is already fitting in at LSU.
During an interview with CBS Sports on Wednesday, Kelly explained what he has learned about both LSU and the state of Louisiana since arriving.
“First of all, we’re going into a large metropolitan city – a lot larger than people believe,” Kelly said. “It’s the state capital. There’s a lot going on. This is a diverse city, there’s a lot of moving pieces, there’s a lot of politics, and so when you get in here there’s a lot of things – you hear this: ‘That’s the way we’ve always done it here.’ And that’s OK, so you kind of have to get used to the way things are done – and then still carve out the way you do things, as well.
“You know, you come in and you kind of get the lay of the land and figure it out – and you lean on some people. Scott Woodward’s from Baton Rouge, so you lean on your boss in these instances and do the things that you need to do. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of kind of finding the middle ground.”