ESPN released an article Friday morning profiling the coaches that it thinks have the most to prove in 2022. It’s no secret that LSU made a big splash in the coaching scene when they took Brian Kelly away from South Bend, Indiana.
Most people who follow college football are aware of how historic and successful Notre Dame’s program has been over the years. Kelly holds the record for the winningest head coach of all time for the Fighting Irish with 113 wins over a 12-year span.
Here’s what ESPN’s David Hale said that Kelly has to prove in 2022.
LSU went big in landing Brian Kelly, but the early returns have been … interesting. The public reaction to the hire has been tepid, with many critics wondering if Kelly is a cultural fit in the SEC (never mind the adopted Southern drawl). That might be a tad unfair, as Kelly has always been underrated as a coach, his successes far outpacing the credit he seems to get for them.
But if Kelly was underappreciated at Notre Dame, there’s no chance his work will fly under the radar now. The pressure to win immediately in the toughest division in college football, at a school that has fired its past two coaches, both of whom won national championships, will be immense.
At Notre Dame, Brian Kelly was a big fish in a small pond. Spending 11 out of those 12 years as an FBS Independent team, they weren’t competing for conference championships every year and they were free to schedule whoever they wanted to play.
The one year Kelly’s squad actually played in a conference was when they played as part of the ACC in 2020. They finished that year 10-2 with their only losses coming to Clemson in the ACC Championship and Alabama in the College Football Playoffs.
Now, Brian Kelly is a small fish in a big pond. This is the SEC. In the Playoff era, the SEC has won five out of the possible eight national titles. Kelly is in “a whole new world” and there is no magical blue genie on the bayou. Did I mention that Kelly has an all-time record of 2-4 against the SEC? Curious who those wins came against? LSU, twice. The Music City Bowl in 2014 and the Citrus Bowl in 2018. His four losses come to Alabama and Georgia, who he lost to twice apiece. Kelly has a lot of coaching talent, but he definitely arrives in Baton Rouge with a lot to prove.
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