(This was originally a guest post from Lisa Kelly on the Diary of Sidelines and Pearls. Please check out Erica Barnett’s unique take on college football at the Diary of Sidelines and Pearls.)
Who is Brian Kelly?
At this point, in his eighth year as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, many people are pretty sure that they know who Brian Kelly is; but I am not so sure. In year eight, Coach Kelly certainly isn’t the same person he was in year one.
He’s learned many lessons, has had both triumphs and failures, and has evolved his coaching style in order to keep bettering his craft. Coach Kelly is no more defined by his 12-0 season, than he is by his 4-8 season. And he’s matured from the coach screaming on the sideline as the game marched on, to the coach firmly yet still emphatically teaching his players what is necessary in the moment, in order to also better their craft.
He may not have completely understood what it was going to take to be successful at a school like Notre Dame, where the concept of the student-athlete is the norm and not the exception; but he’s certainly put in the effort to evolve into the man and coach that Notre Dame requires of the head coach of their football team. He also isn’t the first coach to arrive at Notre Dame not in total understanding of what was in front of him.
Haters Gonna Hate
Heading into week four, with a record of 2-1, the haters are already very prevalent, and doing their absolute best to make their voices heard. Press conferences are tense, and as seen after the loss to Georgia, a quick temper can still get the better of Coach Kelly. But that is pretty normal when you are under the intense scrutiny that the head coach of Notre Dame is under. While the media does absolutely deserve to be respected, the media and fans need to recognize the constant pressure that Coach Kelly is under, everywhere he goes. From the University, the team, the fans, the media; being the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame means there is very little downtime, which can become quite exhausting.
The Georgia game may not have brought the intended outcome, but Coach Kelly has put the wheels of change in motion and we owe him the chance to let this season play out. He has restructured his coaching staff in order to set his team up for success. He has placed a greater emphasis on the Notre Dame “student-athlete,” and has made a conscious effort to make relationship building a priority. With only three games under his belt this season, Coach Kelly deserves our patience, and the time to implement his renovated football program. Like the newly renovated stadium, there are still a few kinks that need to be worked out, but not only is Coach Kelly taking responsibility for what has happened so far this season, but his players are as well.
I am looking forward to watching the rest of the season play out. I wish the “Fire Kelly” crowd would simmer down a bit and let him do his job. He has shown us he can bring our team to greatness, and I believe he can do it again.
Cheers & GO IRISH!
- Breaking Discoveries in CTE Research? - March 12, 2018
- A Football Player’s Lucky Charm? - February 22, 2018
- Part II: From Football to Coffee Beans? - January 31, 2018
TERRY
Lisa – “He has made a conscious effort to make relationship building a priority.”
?
Lisa
He stated that at the spring game … that he was making a conscious effort to build better relationships with his players.
TERRY
That sounds more than a little touchy-feely to me and that’s not my thing.
Lisa
It sure worked for Coach Holtz.
Jeff
I totally agree with you 100%. A football program is a living breathing thing. You don’t just arrive and stay there. It is a constant growth and evolving process. I am excited about where Coach Kelly has these guys and a lot of it is a result of the staff he has built around him (with the strength and conditioning maybe being the most critical, although the defense has made amazing improvements already.
This week will be a big indicator of how the season will progress based on the landscape. Georgia plays Mississippi State who just pummeled a highly ranked LSU team. If Georgia shows well against that MSU and we show well against this MSU, I think people will start to take notice. Stanford has lost twice and USC showed their not so superhuman side this past weekend against Texas.
Just imagine (and yes I’m guilty of being a sometimes too optimistic ND Fan), we could be hosting an undefeated USC with a 5-1 record of our own and our only loss being to an undefeated top 5 Georgia team. That is not too extreme and is quite possible. GO IRISH!
Lisa
5-1 going into USC would be amazing!!
paul
Nice. Well-written. I also forget how incredibly difficult Kelly’s job is.
Lisa
Thank you!
77domer
Finally, some balance! Previous teams might have let Boston College back in the game in the third quarter and certainly would have folded against Georgia. All is not perfect, and rarely is at Notre Dame, but for now, the change and improvement are apparent. Another big step in MSU this week. GO IRISH!
Lisa
GO IRISH!
Bill Madison
How many other elite programs (I’m not even sure we can consider Notre Dame an elite program anymore) would have stuck with their coaches after eight years and a 70% winning percentage? You make Kelly sound like he has more pressure on him to win than any other coach in college football. That’s nonsense. Year end, year out, Notre Dame has a top-15 recruiting class and yet they get pounded by teams with less talent. And while we can all feel good about the 2012 and 2015 seasons, don’t forget how those seasons ended — by being knocked around the field by Alabama and Ohio State. Those two games alone were good barometers on the true status of the football program. Also, what does Notre Dame owe Brian Kelly? If you go back to Ara, every coach since then with the exception of Kelly either retired or was fired. Kelly on the other hand has made plenty of overtures to the NFL. In fact, he was sniffing around for NFL jobs as soon as he walked off the field after being annihilated by Bama. Why should Notre Dame be loyal to Kelly if he considers his current job as a mere stepping stone to a job in the NFL? For 45+ years, my Saturdays have evolved around ND football. But watching Kelly scream at his players and assistant coaches during the games and at the media after games makes it harder and harder to watch the Blue and Gold.
Lisa
So who would you rather have? Tell me your solution.
Bill Madison
Who said anything about not respecting your comments. You’re the one accusing Kelly detractors of being Kelly “haters.” I’m not. I’m just passionate about Notre Dame football. Some of the things you mention in your article — like Kelly placing a great emphasis on the student-athlete — should not be implemented in year seven. He should have considered that in 2014 when five of his players were suspended. So what happens if we go through another 7-5 season? Do we give him one more year to implement additional changes (aka buying time)? As for my solutions, I’d tell Swarbrick that Kelly is on a short leash and to begin evaluating potential coaches for 2018. If you asked me this question last year, I would have unloaded Kelly before the end of the season – maybe after the losses to North Carolina State or Navy when Kelly had nobody but himself to blame — so the school could have gotten a jump on the other teams looking for head coaches. And if you asked me the question seven years ago, I would have required Kelly to read a note written by Eisenhower the day before the D-Day landings. Fortunately, it was a note Eisenhower didn’t have to release to the media. In it he wrote that he took full responsibility for the failure of the D-Day landings. That to me defines what leadership is all about and something that Kelly has lacked for the past seven year. I’d also like to point out that I wrote Kelly a letter seven years ago criticizing the way he screamed at Tommy Rees on the sidelines during a nationally televised game. Hopefully, with the new and improved Brian Kelly, we’ll see a coach who won’t blame everyone but himself when things go bad, and maybe, just maybe will beat a top 5 team.
Lisa
If they (ND) were unhappy about him waiting until year seven to put a greater emphasis on relationship building, why did they extend his contract?
Bill Madison
I suppose that question should be asked of Kelly or Swarbrick, not me. I’m simply responding to what you wrote in your article.
okerland
On a different topic do you think shampoo or conditioner is better?
TERRY
Good question – Dandruff shampoo is clearly superior.
Lisa
Gotcha.
So who is your dream coach, post BK?
Bill Madison
Dream coach? Chris Peterson. He won at Boise State and is winning at University of Washington.
bmquig5
Seriously Bill? Have you ever played football, or any other sport? Coaches yell. They get fed up when they work with their players for countless hours in practice and they don’t execute. It happens. Don’t be so sensitive. I agree with Lisa, and I was a “fire Kelly” guy last season. But I love the way the young team is fighting this year and the much improved defense. He realized the error of his ways and he hired coaches who he has no history with because we needed a shakeup in South Bend. I will never understand a “fan” who would rather see a coach get fired than their team succeed. We graduate something insane like only 7 players this year, not counting anyone who would leave without taking their 5th year. Buckle up, because Kelly isn’t going anywhere this season, and this team is only going to get better as the year goes on and we will have a pretty special roster next season.
Bill Madison
Yes, I’ve played football. I had coaches yell at me but I never had a coach call me an fu _ _ ing moron (see youtube video of Kelly). It’s one thing if this was Kelly’s first or second year but he’s had seven years to build the program. Can’t understand why folks expect anything different out of him this year. Each year, we keep hearing how he’s a changed person…how he’s matured and evolved as a coach. Good God, how much more time should we be patient with him? Do you actually suppose Kelly would be making all these changes with himself and his coaching staff on his own? Heck no. You seem to be a bigger “fan” than I. If that’s the case Mr. Fan, are you content with a Notre Dame team that can only win 65% of it’s games, because that’s the record under Brian Kelly. As I said in a previous message, I’ve been a fan for 45+ years, a loyal fan in fact. So I take it that as a “fan”, you were wiling to give Charlie Weis more time because he only had five years to turn the program around, not seven like Kelly.
bmquig5
It’s as though you forget that only 5 years ago, we were in a national championship game for the first time since Holtz. Yes, we got creamed by Alabama who had a ridiculous 13 or 15 players get drafted; no one could compete with that team if they have a month to prepare for you. They were destined to win that game. Two years ago, we were one of the singe most talented teams that would have been in the playoffs if it weren’t for a boat-load of injuries. Yes, we lost to Ohio State by 2 scores. Again, Jaylon Smith was knocked out in the first half, and we had a slew of injuries across the board prior to that anyways.
He has shown that he has the capability of fielding supremely talented teams. He recruits better than any coach we’ve had in recent memory. We had one disastrous season a year ago, and we look much improved through 3 games than that team, again. To your point about Weis, he did get 2 more seasons after his 3-9 debacle, so I’m not really sure what your point is. We gave Kelly an extension because he made the NC game in 2013, and then two seasons later, we are 30 seconds away from the college football playoff. He had one bad year, let’s see how he gets his team to respond.
PS- I’ve been cussed at many times from my football coach and basketball coach. The level of intensity in a coach varies, and I’m not saying the it’s the right way. I wouldn’t do it myself. But I also chose not to be sensitive and emotional to a couple of words in the english language. Maybe if I was a *ucking moron, i would take offense to it. But I’m not. I’d rather have BK’s tactics than Brady Hoke tapping a kid on the ass and saying nice try.
Bill Madison
I guess you’re right. Let’s go ahead and give Kelly an open-ended contract as long as he can continue to win 7 or eight games season. Forget about his track record against top-10 opponents. That’s irrelevant as long as he fields a top 20 team every three or four years. And what the heck, who cares that Notre Dame is a Catholic University that some of us faithful believe should be held to a high moral standard. If Kelly wants to shove his coaches, curse at his players until he’s blue in the face, or insult reporters on national TV, why should anyone care? And you’re right, we did sustain a lot of injuries in 2015, and I’m guessing we were the only team in college football that year that lost players due to injuries. Darn, just our luck. And you’re also right about one bad year; however, I do recall a time (probably before your time) when a bad year was defined by 2 to 3 losses, not five. I suppose the difference between you and me is that you’re willing to wait longer than I am for a return to the glory years when Notre Dame was an elite program year end, year out. We both share a passion for Notre Dame football, but we’re definitely on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to whether Kelly has proven to be the right person to coach the Blue and Gold. I’m signing off. I’ve enjoyed our exchanges.
Irish Elvis
while petersen has a good track record, he’s also locked into a contract through 2023. without having specific figures in front of me, do you think simultaneously a) firing BK b) paying BK’s buyout (whatever that is) c) paying petersen’s UW buyout (whatever that is) d) paying petersen’s new salary carries more or less risk than seeing how BK shakes out? also note that BK’s win pct is .722 and petersen is .811 so this change nets ND about 1-2 additional wins per year
Bill Madison
Perhaps you should read the question that I was asked: Who would be my dream coach? I know that Petersen is locked in a contract. Also, how Kelly performed at Cincinnati, Central Michigan and Grand Valley State is irrelevant to me. It’s his 65% win pct at ND that matters.
Jimmy Grant
I always thought it was lame the way the bashed Kelly for screaming at players. Funny when Meyer or Harbaugh does it they are referred to as passionate. When Kelly does, he is a maniac. I’ve been critical of Kelly, because well…fans are critical. There were ND fans who didn’t like Lou.
Lisa
And for the record, I appreciate your comments, but we don’t have to agree on this. You can have your opinions and I can have mine!
TERRY
IF we beat a top 5 team we’re not supposed to beat, many sins will be forgiven.
Because – that’s what we’re supposed to do.
Your optimism and enthusiasm and respect for and defense of coach Kelly is duly noted and highly respected, and old coots like me like to see that.
This old coot was once a young coot who listened to the 1966 USC game on a shortwave radio during a mid-watch in the mideast, watched the 1973 Sugar Bowl, the green jersey game against USC in 1977 and the NC game against West Virginia in 1989.
And we’re waiting.
Because
If we beat a top 5 team we’re not supposed to beat, many sins will be forgiven – that’s what we’re supposed to do.
You’ve never known the feeling of your favorite team being National Champion, and believe me – it feels good.
Lisa
I was a senior in high school when they won the national championship in 1988, and when I was a freshman in 1989 the number one sign was lit up on top of Grace Hall, so yes, I do know what it feels like to have your team be a national champion
Jimmy Grant
I remember it well also. That is what the frustration is. Davie wasn’t Holtz, Ty was a second choice that many didn’t want, Charlie teased us early, Kelly put us there but we seem to have regressed. At the end of day, they all haven’t won enough. I think giving Kelly time to fix this, is good though. When you have to start over, it is a long haul. Look at Michigan, for all the buzz about Harbaugh he has yet to have surpassed Brady Hoke’s best season.
Lisa
Agreed … I’m not ready to give up on BK yet. The glimmer is still there.