The last 11-years have been fantastic, the Irish have seen some great football, four straight 10-win seasons and trips to the BCS National Title game along with two berths into the College Football Playoff. Brian Kelly has elevated the team to new heights, but as he is now leaving to the Bayou, what is to be made of the Irish?
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Personally, I feel like this is a blessing in disguise, a similar situation to another Midwest power, Ohio State had with head coach John Cooper. Cooper did everything but win the big game, constantly losing to their rival Michigan while occasionally winning lower-tier bowl games. Sound familiar?
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Kelly has amassed the most wins in Notre Dame football history as a head coach, but what does he have to show for it? A Citrus Bowl win. Camping World crown. How about a Sun Bowl victory? Even a Music City Bowl win was thrown in there. Nothing to write home about.
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For all that Kelly did for the program, he will go down as not being able to win the big game. As for the Buckeyes, they would go on to hire Jim Tressel, and in year 2 they hoisted the National Championship Trophy. The Irish could very well be in the same exact position.
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The difference between the two? The Ohio State roster was diluted with over-rated talent, the Irish roster is quiet the opposite. I, for one, believe that the future is bright, regardless of who is brought in to replace Kelly. That coach will have to be able to win the big game and if they’re just winning 50% of those, it will be much better than what Kelly was able to accomplish.
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In no means am I saying the next coach will win over 100-games and surpass Kelly as the all-time wins leader. What I do expect is that the next coach will have more success in big games, which should lead the Irish to a place they haven’t been since 1988.