Brian Kelly defends LSU defensive staff after Alabama loss: 'We're making the kind of progress that I need to see'

BATON ROUGE — LSU football coach Brian Kelly defended his defensive coaching staff on Monday in light of the Tigers' 42-28 loss to Alabama on Saturday.

After being asked about the performance of his defensive coaching staff this season, Kelly said during his weekly press conference that he believes LSU's defense is "making the kind of progress that I need to see."

"We're playing the players that are best suited the time necessary and I think they're developing," Kelly said. "I thought we did a heck of a job battling a big and powerful offensive unit against Alabama."

Kelly's comments come after LSU surrendered 507 yards to a Crimson Tide offense that had yet to put up more than 500 yards in a game against an SEC opponent this season. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe also had 155 rushing yards and became the first quarterback in program history to score four rushing touchdowns in a game.

The Tigers allowed 21 unanswered points in the second half after holding a 28-21 lead in the third quarter.

"My expectations are the same as everybody else's expectations. Our offense is ahead of our defense," Kelly said. "I want our defense to catch up."

LSU will try to get back on track this Saturday when it hosts Florida in Tiger Stadium (6:30 p.m., SEC Network).

JAYDEN DANIELS INJURY UPDATE: Jayden Daniels injury update: Brian Kelly lists star QB as day-to-day before Florida matchup

5 QUESTIONS FROM ALABAMA LOSS: How many missed tackles did LSU football have against Alabama? 5 questions after the Tigers' loss

LSU'S DEFENSIVE ISSUES: LSU football knows what the problem is (hint: it's the defense). So why can't Brian Kelly fix it?

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Brian Kelly defends Matt House, LSU defensive staff after Alabama loss