Dabo Swinney shares hilarious Brian Kelly, Florida Georgia Line mix up

Dabo Swinney learned a valuable lesson about Brian Kelly while vacationing in the Florida panhandle this summer — the LSU head football coach doesn’t moonlight as a country music star.

During a recent press conference ahead of the start of Fall camp, the longtime Clemson head coach revealed a hilarious story about how he mistakenly confused LSU’s Brian Kelly with Brian Kelley, the lead singer of popular country music band Florida Georgia Line.

“I had a hilarious moment this summer. This is hilarious, and also just really stupid on my part — shocker,” Swinney joked. “We went down to the beach, there’s a place called Grayton Beach down on the panhandle and I was with my brother hanging out. … So my brother and my sister-in-law are saying: ‘Brian Kelly has a place (in town) … his wife has a gift shop right on the corner there in Grayton Beach.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh really, that’s pretty cool.’ I had no idea.”

Swinney then recalled how he and his wife Kathleen went to visit the gift shop and immediately started up a conversation with a store employee.

“Kat buys something because she’s trying to support Mrs. Kelly or whatever we’re doing. … I’m walking around, and I go up (to an associate) and they’re like, ‘Yeah, he’s going to have a concert in the back.’ So I walk out to the back and there’s a little stage in the back, … just a small little area,” Swinney continued. “It says ‘Brian Kelley performing live’ on this day and I’m going, ‘Freaking A, Brian Kelly can sing?! I didn’t know that.’

“So I’m taking pictures [mocks taking pictures with his phone] and I’m sending it to Brian Kelly. I’m sending all these pictures to (LSU head coach) Brian Kelly. Then I get on the stage and [mocks pointing with both hands towards the sign as if he’s taking a picture], I’m kind of having some fun. And I send all this to Brian Kelly, alright.”

After firing off several images of the stage to the 63-year-old coach entering his fourth year at LSU, Swinney’s wife informs another employee that Clemson plays LSU in the 2025 season-opener, at which point the truth was revealed. The owner of the Grayton Beach gift shop is the wife of country music singer Brian Kelley, the 39-year-old frontman of Florida Georgia Line along with Tyler Hubbard. The two bandmates recently reunited after a three-year hiatus for the band.

“As it turns out, there’s another Brian Kelley. And what’s the band? … I think it’s called Florida Georgia Line. … And he’s like the lead singer or something,” Swinney said sheepishly. “I’ve even heard their songs, but I don’t know all these people’s names. I have no clue. So now Kat goes, ‘Babe, it’s Brian Kelley the singer with Florida Georgia Line.’ And I went, ‘What?! I done fired all these pictures off to Brian Kelly’ and he’s probably over there going: ‘What the hell? What is this dude doing?’”

The LSU head coach eventually responded to Swinney’s texts by joking the Clemson coach “just can’t get away from Brian Kelly.”

Swinney added he planned to tell Kelly the full story of his summer screw-up at midfield prior to their season-opener Aug. 30 (7:30 pm ET, ABC) at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium.

“We’ll have a laugh over that,” Swinney concluded. “And to the actual Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line, hey, come play in (Death) Valley sometime. I’d love to see you (in Clemson).”