Category: Brian Kelly

Tweet: Notre Dame personnel ‘blindsided’ by Kelly’s pending departure

People within the university don’t seem to have known what was coming when Brian Kelly left for LSU

If you were surprised by Brian Kelly reportedly leaving Notre Dame for LSU’s head coaching job, you’re not alone. In fact, people on Kelly’s own staff at Notre Dame and other prominent folks within the university don’t appear to have seen this coming, and they’re not taking it well. Matt Fortuna of The Athletic is reporting just how deeply this runs:

One Irish assistant apparently found out the news about his boss at a particularly bad time:

So it should come as no surprise that Kelly’s players don’t seem to have known about this either. Otherwise, Kyren Williams and Isaiah Foskey wouldn’t have taken to Twitter to give the understatements of the evening:

As of right now, LSU has not been scheduled as a future regular-season opponent for the Irish. However, if that changes or these programs meet in a bowl as they did twice during Kelly’s Irish tenure, you better believe emotions will run high, especially if the people employed at Notre Dame now are still around.

Photos of Brian Kelly coaching Notre Dame in bowl games against LSU

The Irish have succeeded against LSU under Brian Kelly.

If you’re reading this story, chances are you’re as shocked as anyone that Brian Kelly reportedly is leaving Notre Dame to coach at LSU. For anyone with a long memory, it might be a slightly awkward arrangement at first because Kelly has coached two Irish teams to bowl wins over the Tigers. The first was a 31-28 win in the 2014 Music City Bowl that was decided on a last-second field goal from Kyle Brindza. Another close contest came in the 2018 Citrus Bowl, which the Irish won, 21-17, on a late 55-yard touchdown pass from Ian Book to Miles Boykin.

Here’s a look at Kelly during these games:

Jan 1, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly celebrates after defeating the LSU Tigers in the 2018 Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly (right) thanks the fans after defeating LSU Tigers in the 2018 Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly accepts the trophy after defeating LSU Tigers in the 2018 Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
FILE- This Jan. 1, 2018 file photo shows Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly celebrating with the championship trophy after defeating LSU 21-17 in the Citrus Bowl NCAA college football game in Orlando, Fla. Notre Dame won 21-17.  (AP Photo/John Raoux, file)
Jan 1, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly celebrates after the second half against the LSU Tigers in the 2018 Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports
ORLANDO, FL – JANUARY 01: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is lifted up by Hunter Bivin #70 following the Citrus Bowl against the LSU Tigers on January 1, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. Notre Dame won 21-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Jan 1, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly (right) gets a Gatorade bath after defeating LSU Tigers in the 2018 Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly directs his team against LSU during the second half of the Citrus Bowl NCAA college football game, Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. Notre Dame won 21-17. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Jan 1, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly talks with a referee against the LSU Tigers during the first half in the 2018 Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports
ORLANDO, FL – JANUARY 01: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on against the LSU Tigers in the first half of the Citrus Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Jan 1, 2018; Orlando, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly runs onto the field with the team before the 2018 Citrus Bowl against the LSU Tigers at Camping World Stadium. Matt Stamey-USA TODAY Sports
NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 30: Brian Kelly the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish watches the action during the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl against the LSU Tigers at LP Field on December 30, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN – DECEMBER 30: Brian Kelly the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish gives instructions to his team during the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl against the LSU Tigers at LP Field on December 30, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly argues a call with referee Mike Batlan, right, in the first half of the Music City Bowl NCAA college football game against LSU, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly argues a call in the first half of the Music City Bowl NCAA college football game against LSU on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly and Louisiana State Tigers head coach Les Miles shake hands before the Music City Bowl game at LP Field. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly prior to the game against the LSU Tigers in the Music City Bowl at LP Field. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly prior to the game against the LSU Tigers in the Music City Bowl at LP Field. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2014; Nashville, TN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly prior to the game against the LSU Tigers in the Music City Bowl at LP Field. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Brian Kelly to accept LSU job offer

Notre Dame is now looking for a new head coach. Seriously.

If you thought Sunday was crazy with Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma for LSU then you’re going to want to sit down.

Brian Kelly is expected to be named LSU’s new football coach as early as Tuesday according to Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports.

The Athletic broke the news Monday that LSU was targeting Kelly and just a few short hours later Thamel was the first to share the news of Kelly’s departure.

There are reasons for Kelly to take the job as I’m sure a Brinks truck full of cash is headed his way. At the same time I’m flat-out shocked he actually did it.

We will have more all night as this MASSIVE story develops.

Related – Notre Dame’s all-time winningest football coaches

Check it out: College football head coaching carousel tracker

 

Brian Kelly makes cringeworthy statement in postgame interview

Uh, Brian?

When your team almost blows a game it should have won easily, you sometimes say things you don’t mean. When Notre Dame needed overtime to beat Florida State after blowing an 18-point fourth-quarter lead Sunday, you never would have guessed the Irish had won based on Brian Kelly’s words. When being interviewed by Katie George on ABC immediately after the game, Kelly uttered some words that would have spelled disaster for him in any other context:

If this was Kelly’s attempt at being clever, it certainly wasn’t the best one. It wasn’t easy for anyone to watch Irish nearly give that game away, and some fans might have choice words for certain players, if not the whole team. Even if Kelly was saying it tongue-in-cheek in reference to former USC and Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John McKay, which he claimed was the case, the environment we live in might not let him off very easily, or it might just open him up to ridicule. Either way, it would be a little surprising if social media decided to forget this.

Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly talks with PFF about Jack Coan, Marcus Freeman and more

BK drops some interesting info in this podcast

The season is upon us, with week 1 actually starting, a full slate of games and the excitement of the season starting is in the air. Today, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly jumped on the Pro Football Focus College podcast ‘Tailgate’ and discussed a variety of topics.

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He told hosts Mike Renner and Austin Gayle why he believes Jack Coan is not a concern for the Irish heading into week 1 against Florida State, his relationship with new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and why he chose him and much more.

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Take a listen below as the excitement for the 2021 Notre Dame football season continues to build.

ESPN answers if Notre Dame’s offense will be top-10 caliber the next 3 years

Too low or too high?

The offseason is in full force, with the Notre Dame staff focusing on spring practice and recruiting, it’s been a great time for analysts to look ahead at what to expect for this upcoming season.

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Well, ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg did us one better, he looked at the next three years (insider) looked at the next three years and tried to predict the best upcoming offenses in the country.

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How did the Irish fare in Rittenberg’s future estimation of offenses? Short answer, they’re one of the best, but not nearly as good as we’d all like them to be coming in ranked as the 14th best offense in the country.

With last season being offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ first full year calling an offense, he’s established a solid base for Brian Kelly. During the shortened 2020 campaign, the Irish were just outside the top 25 in total offense, 26th, averaging 33.4 points-per-game, good for 30th nationally.

Rittenberg saw what we all did in the Irish’s final two contests, “that the program clearly needs more explosiveness on offense to win titles. The Irish must continue to build on their strengths — offensive line, tight end, running back — and get more from the perimeter game and ultimately quarterback.”

Hard to disagree with that assessment, quarterback in my estimation, is the biggest weakness of the offense at the current moment. Rittenberg views transfer Jack Coan as “a solid option for 2021, but Notre Dame needs incoming recruit Tyler Buchner to be as advertised to help elevate the unit for the future.”

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What about the guys the quarterbacks will ultimately throw to? Rittenberg sees that group as one that “must step up this fall.” The collective of Avery Davis, Kevin Austin Jr., and Braden Lenzy needs to help Coan. Also mentioned was the young duo of Jordan Johnson and Deion Colzie potentially being the “big -play spark Notre Dame desperately needs.”

Aside from that position, Rittenberg is high on the rest of the offense. Michael Meyer is mentioned as a Mackey Award candidate, the depth at tight end being impressive beyond the rising sophomore. He see’s the line returning “versatile veterans such as Jarrett Patterson and Josh Lugg,” along with Zeke Correll.

Although the ranking isn’t what many of us wanted to hear, the nice part about it is that the Irish have room to grow. Even with the so-called offensive deficiencies, the Irish have been to the College Football Playoff’s two of the last three years and are on the cusp of breaking through to join some elite company in the college football world.

The Athletic names Brian Kelly a top coach, how high does he rank?

And we’re happy to have him

The college football landscape has already made it move on from the 2020-21 season and has turned its head to the ‘21-22 campaign. With the offseason in full swing, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel ranked the top 25 coaching in the sport. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see where Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly ended up on their individual lists.

Starting with Feldman’s, Kelly was ranked (subscription) behind only Alabama’s Nick Saban and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. A top 3 ranking is lofty but as Feldman explained that Kelly “hasn’t led the Fighting Irish to a national title but he’s produced a bunch of really good teams and elevated the program.”

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That some high praise from a reporter who’s been covering the sport for a very long time.

As for Mandel, he actually agreed with his top three choices, once again Kelly getting ranked (subscription) behind Saban and Swinney. Mandel pointed out that Kelly has led the Irish to 10-plus wins five times over the last six years, something the “Irish did that just twice in the 16 seasons prior to his arrival.”

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There are obvious blemishes on Kelly’s record, most notably the failures in big game situations in the old BCS format and the current College Football Playoff’s. Interestingly enough, Kelly lost to both the coaches ranked ahead of him this past season. If those are his only detractors, then both Feldman and Mandel hit this one right on the head. Brian Kelly is one of the best coaching in all of college football.

Brian Kelly pleas for Notre Dame community to reach out to Louis Nix

We all are very concerned about the whereabouts and well-being of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Louis Nix.

We all are very concerned about the whereabouts and well-being of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Louis Nix. Since he was reported missing, there have been many efforts to hear anything from him at all. Now, Nix’s former coach is taking up the cause. Brian Kelly has called for everyone in the Notre Dame community to make every possible effort to track Nix down and make sure he’s OK:

Nix was one of Kelly’s players from 2010 to 2013. After not seeing any game action as a freshman, Nix became a starter as a sophomore and a key cog for the vaunted defense that made the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. A knee injury cut his senior season short, but he had done enough to make his mark in Notre Dame history.

With Kelly taking up the cause to find Nix as his own, there absolutely should be no shortage of people following every lead they can. That includes anyone who happens to be reading this post. If you or someone you know has information that will lead to the whereabouts of Louis Nix, please call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-0500.

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Notre Dame drops in ESPN’s future quarterback rankings

With the graduation of Ian Book, Notre Dame must find their signal caller of the future or they could continue to drop in the rankings.

Going into last year the Irish were in very good hands at the most important position in sports, with Ian Book quarterbacking the team for this 3rd-year as a starter. The results were great, a regular season ACC title, a berth in the College Football Playoffs for the second time in three years.

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Although the 2020 season didn’t end the way any of us wanted to, Book brought stability to the position which resulted in 10 wins. The immediate future most likely sees transfer Jack Coan as Books replacement, although the need for Brian Kelly to develop depth at the position is much needed for the future of the program.

The upcoming season’s past 2021 will hold a much different future for the position and after ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg looked at his future quarterback rankings (insider), the Irish will need to catch up a bit. Falling from 7th last year to 16th after this update, the position will once again be in the spotlight in South Bend.

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Rittenberg sees the situation like I do, “Notre Dame needs to upgrade at quarterback to truly challenge for a national title despite two CFP appearances in the past three years.” The need for a difference maker at the position is glaring, Coan isn’t the long-term answer but maybe that player is already on campus.

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The 2021 class included top-100 recruit Tyler Buchner from California, who is the future at quarterback. That’s not a knock on Brendon Clark or Drew Pyne, it’s more of a testament to Buchner’s abilities. Rittenberg mentions Buchner as being “long been pegged as Notre Dame’s quarterback of the future.”

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The future is now and the need to develop the depth at the position is a glaring issue. Clark and Pyne had virtually no experience heading into this season, which is why Coan was brought in.

Kelly and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees can’t have another situation like this years emerge next year. The younger quarterbacks need to play, so going into 2022, there should be some semblance of urgency to get the younger QB’s that much needed experience.

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With Coan’s injury history, relying on him to complete a whole season shouldn’t be taken for granted. Again, getting the younger players experience will be paramount. When Rittenberg revisits his future QB rankings next year, this group should be ranked higher as long as development happens.

Notre Dame offers 2022 Georgia star safety

The Notre Dame staff stay busy on the recruiting trail, trying to continue the Georgia pipeline to South Bend.

There will be open spots in the Notre Dame secondary following this coming season and the competition with be fierce. New Irish defensive coordinator knows that most likely star safety Kyle Hamilton will leave early to the NFL while Houston Griffith could make his move as well, he’s due to graduate this spring.

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With all that in mind, Brian Kelly and Freeman are searching for their next star defensive back and offered Georgia safety Emory Floyd today.

The six-foot-three-inch and 165-pound star has already set a commitment date for May 7th. The Irish join an impressive list of offers that include Georgia, Florida, Auburn, North Carolina and others.

If I was pitching Floyd, I would remind him that the Georgia safety pipeline to South Bend is strong with Hamilton and the recently signed Khari Gee. It’s not just in the secondary that the pipeline is strong either, the Irish just signed wide receivers Deion Colzie and Jayden Thomas and tight end Cane Berrong from the state in the last recruiting cycle. In the 2022 class, tight end Jack Nickel hails from Georgia as well.

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Although it does seem like the Irish have some ground to make up in Floyd’s recruitment, instate Georgia is the perceived leader, there is still time to make a big time impression on the Georgian.