Notre Dame Signs Kelly

[ArmyBengal]

Someone answer this: We've seen all of the stats that say ND has higher rated recruiting classes than UC. What happens when Brian Kelly can't produce back to back BCS bowl berths? What happens when it takes Brian Kelly 2-3 years to be a top 10 team?

There's a different environment and pressure at ND that is not there at UC. It's a huge difference and I think it plays a major factor in the success of that program...good or bad.

What happens when he can't produce back to back BCS bowl berths ??Same thing that would happen if that was the case anywhere I suppose, but when looking at what he's been able to do at UC with less talented recruiting classes in a short period of time, I don't think that's really the concern for Notre Dame.

What happens when it takes him 2-3 years to be a top ten team ?? Same response as to why I don't think that's a concern for Notre Dame based upon his production at UC. Heck, it might take him longer, but something tells me it wouldn't.

I agree there's a huge difference in environment and pressure at Notre Dame, as opposed to other places, but it's Kelly's short term production to this point in time that makes him highly sought after by Notre Dame. If he can exist in that pressure cooker remains to be seen, but he appears to be exactly the type of guy they want and need to head that program.

On a side note, I heard he didn't even meet with Notre Dame, so maybe that's good news ?? Then again, who knows ??

[cincyhokie]

Someone answer this: We've seen all of the stats that say ND has higher rated recruiting classes than UC. What happens when Brian Kelly can't produce back to back BCS bowl berths? What happens when it takes Brian Kelly 2-3 years to be a top 10 team?

There's a different environment and pressure at ND that is not there at UC. It's a huge difference and I think it plays a major factor in the success of that program...good or bad.

What happens when he can't produce back to back BCS bowl berths ??Same thing that would happen if that was the case anywhere I suppose, but when looking at what he's been able to do at UC with less talented recruiting classes in a short period of time, I don't think that's really the concern for Notre Dame.

What happens when it takes him 2-3 years to be a top ten team ?? Same response as to why I don't think that's a concern for Notre Dame based upon his production at UC. Heck, it might take him longer, but something tells me it wouldn't.

I agree there's a huge difference in environment and pressure at Notre Dame, as opposed to other places, but it's Kelly's short term production to this point in time that makes him highly sought after by Notre Dame. If he can exist in that pressure cooker remains to be seen, but he appears to be exactly the type of guy they want and need to head that program.

On a side note, I heard he didn't even meet with Notre Dame, so maybe that's good news ?? Then again, who knows ??

I disagree. I think it will take at least 2-3 years for them to be where the fans expect them to be. I just have the feeling that people are going to look at stats such as his past record at UC, and the recruit rankings of ND vs. UC. Instant results.

Not going to happen if Brian Kelly does what he should by building his recruiting classes around his system. It's not all about who's got the most talented roster. Who can build a cohesive and winning unit? That takes time. Is ND going to give him enough time to do that?

[ArmyBengal]

It's not all about who's got the most talented roster. Who can build a cohesive and winning unit? That takes time. Is ND going to give him enough time to do that?

Agree that it's not about who's got the most talented roster, but for Kelly it has been more about his players buying into his philosophy than anything else and that has turned his players into a cohesive unit. The "next man up" line of thought has empowered every single player on that team to believe in what they have the chance to bring to the team.

Also agree that takes time as you said, but Kelly found a way to shorten that time with what recruiters scouted as "lesser" players.

My point is, if you can do that with a higher caliber group of players, shouldn't you expect the type of results we've seen from Kelly to this point with players of lesser ability ?? Once again, I think the answer is yes, but your last question is the deal breaker in anything any of us may or may not be thinking about. Will ND give him time to do that ?? They sure gave Weis a buttload of time to try to make good on his recruiting classes, so I can't see why Kelly wouldn't be given the same type of timeframe.

I started this whole thing basically to refute the idea that Kelly will simply fade into obscurity if he takes the ND job.

I thought that line of thought is simply brought about by angered fans who don't want to see him go.

Either way around, I won't be the least bit surprised and simply tried to paint reasons why it isn't so far fetched as some may think.

[Kazkal]

Kelly sounds like the Zimmer of college football "scrap iron" team

[skyline]

What would really irk me about this would be Kelly leaving before the Sugar Bowl is played. As a teacher/coach, I'd have a very hard sleeping at night know that I worked with a group of kids for two years and then abandoned them before the biggest game of their lives. That's a tough one to swallow. And yes, I'm sure I'll get the response that those millions of dollars might help you sleep better, blah blah blah. I'm not sure that they would...

Anyway, ESPN is now reporing that there's a strong mutual interest between ND and Edsall from UConn. Let's hope this is true and that ND isn't simply trying to pressure Kelly into a decision: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4728474

[HoosierCat]

I thought this from Bill Koch was insightful:

When I texted Brian Kelly yesterday about his talks with Notre Dame, he made a point of saying in his response that he was still talking to UC as well. I believe that he is and that he’s serious about those negotiations, but from talking to people close to this situation, I still believe that Notre Dame is his first choice. I know for a fact that ND has always been the job he has had his eye on.

Here’s what I believe is going on. Kelly won’t go to Notre Dame and risk being another in a recent string of coaches who can’t win there because of the restrictions those coaches face. He’s telling them what he needs to win a national championship, and if they can’t compromise on some of those issues he won’t take the job. Meanwhile, he’s in talks with UC to strengthen his position there. If the ND job doesn’t work out, he returns to UC in a much stronger position than he was before.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

Supposedly there is a press conference set tomorrow to announce Notre Dames new coach. Though I am not sure.

[ArmyBengal]

Well, here's to hoping it's the guy from UCONN. That is unless it's the job that Kelly "wants" and then I will wish him good luck while being disappointed.

[BlainThePain]

Its Kelly

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4732205

Sources: Kelly to be new Irish coach

Comment Email Print Share

ESPN.com news services

Brian Kelly, who has coached Cincinnati's football team to a 12-0 record this season and a berth in the Sugar Bowl, will be the new coach at Notre Dame, two sources have told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Neither Notre Dame nor Cincinnati has confirmed that Kelly has accepted an offer to coach the Fighting Irish, and Kelly could not be reached for comment, but the sources tell Mortensen that Kelly is Notre Dame's choice to replace the fired Charlie Weis.

The 47-year-old Kelly is 34-6 in three seasons at Cincinnati, leading the Bearcats to back-to-back Big East titles and two straight Bowl Championship Series berths. The Bearcats set a school record last season for victories with an 11-3 record, then topped that with a 12-0 mark this season.

Cincinnati is holding its football banquet later tonight, and in a change of plans Thursday afternoon, barred the media from the event. One source told Mortensen that Kelly will announce at the banquet that he has taken the Notre Dame job. Earlier this week, Kelly had contact with representative of Notre Dame about its opening.

Neither source could confirm whether Kelly would coach Cincinnati (No. 3 BCS, No. 4 AP) against fifth-ranked Florida in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. The Bearcats have won 18 straight regular-season games.

The Chicago Tribune reported this week that Kelly would not coach the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl if hired by Notre Dame, and that associate head coach/defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs would be his likely replacement.

Last week Kelly and Notre Dame officials had an informational meeting, which was facilitated by Parker Executive Search, the Atlanta firm that Notre Dame used to gauge potential candidates' interest, according to the Tribune's Web site.

Notre Dame fired Weis on Nov. 30 with six years left on his contract. Weis was 35-27 in five seasons, third-worst among coaches who worked at least three years at the school.

With Kelly coming off a 12-win season, it bears mentioning that the last time Notre Dame won 11 games in a season was in 1993 when it went 11-1 and won the Independence Bowl.

Kelly is one of seven finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. The award is voted on by the Football Writers Association of America and will be announced at a reception on Jan. 5 in Newport Beach, Calif.

Chris Mortensen is a senior NFL analyst for ESPN. The Associated Press contributed to this reported.

[coupdayta]

Sorry to sound bitter but I hope he fails. I'm sure Kelly is a nice man but I'll laugh when UC has more success than ND over the next few years. Hope the money was worth it!

[Kazkal]

Sorry to sound bitter but I hope he fails. I'm sure Kelly is a nice man but I'll laugh when UC has more success than ND over the next few years. Hope the money was worth it!

Eh not really fair should be thankful what he has done in the past 3 seasons,I know once Zimmer leaves us I'll be a fan where ever he goes...well besides Cleveland lol....So is he going to coach the Bowl Game or leave before it>?

[skyline]

Sorry to sound bitter but I hope he fails. I'm sure Kelly is a nice man but I'll laugh when UC has more success than ND over the next few years. Hope the money was worth it!

Eh not really fair should be thankful what he has done in the past 3 seasons,I know once Zimmer leaves us I'll be a fan where ever he goes...well besides Cleveland lol....So is he going to coach the Bowl Game or leave before it>?

He's leaving. The OC will be coaching the Sugar Bowl.

[Kazkal]

Sorry to sound bitter but I hope he fails. I'm sure Kelly is a nice man but I'll laugh when UC has more success than ND over the next few years. Hope the money was worth it!

Eh not really fair should be thankful what he has done in the past 3 seasons,I know once Zimmer leaves us I'll be a fan where ever he goes...well besides Cleveland lol....So is he going to coach the Bowl Game or leave before it>?

He's leaving. The OC will be coaching the Sugar Bowl.

Crappy but makes sense has to get a head start on righting the ship @ ND.

[ArmyBengal]

Well, there you go. All the reasons given why it sounded like the perfect fit and off he goes. Not so far fetched after all huh ??

Wish him ill will ?? Sorry, but that's sour grapes. I'm as big a Bearcat fan as any, but he has to be given credit and anyone who knew anything about Kelly knew he always dreamed of coaching at Notre Dame. I am not happy he's going and I think his loss will impact this team tremendously. That being said, I do wish him luck and while I've never been a fan of Notre Dame, I will be hoping he can go in there and do what others have failed at and that's give that program a boost.

Thanks for great coaching !!!

[firemarvinNOW]

I wouldnt have had a problem with him leaving, but I do since he told his players last week he wasnt.

[Stripes]

I hope he succeeds at Notre Dame. I definitely think he's a better coach than Davie, Willingham, or Weis.

[cincyhokie]

He's a great coach and I think he'll help turn the program around. Time will tell if they will ever contend for a NC. I wish him luck there at ND, even though the program irks me to no end.

If the man's goal is to coach ND then congrats to him. Hopefully he will stay there and not jump to the NFL in 3-4 years.

Smart decision to not coach the Sugar Bowl but you have to feel bad for the players.

[ArmyBengal]

Yeah, I think it sucks for the players as well.

[Pidge]

Well, good luck in U-bend BK. No doubt you get them back to BCS bowl eligability quite regularly at least.

As for the Bearcats, who do they go after or do they promote from within?

[ArmyBengal]

Don't know, but boy are the players unhappy. I feel bad for them.

[cincyhokie]

Well, good luck in U-bend BK. No doubt you get them back to BCS bowl eligability quite regularly at least.

As for the Bearcats, who do they go after or do they promote from within?

The UC Athletic Director has made nothing but solid hires since he took over. Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly, Mick Cronin.

I'll bet he hires another great fit for UC's football program. I'm confident this team will continue to win. Dantonio and Kelly help put them in the position they are in. Now they can attract even more higher profile, potential coaches.

If the fans take a look at the big picture, losing Kelly is a small step back. Hire another solid coach, that's it. Kelly already took care of the promoting and salemanship for the program's future. Many thanks to him and his time here.

[Kazkal]

Players should be mad with the system,College needs alot more fixxing then a playoff system it would seem...

But to push back recruiting & have it so coaches can't leave until after bowl season.

[Pidge]

Restraint of trade yadda yadda. I'm still amazed it's legal to prevent an adult from gaining a job in the NFL until they're at least 3 yrs removed from graduating HS.

[BlainThePain]

I don't like ND at all, but I can't be mad at them because I'm a huge Kentucky fan and they just did the same thing to Memphis last year.

[derekshank]

Restraint of trade yadda yadda. I'm still amazed it's legal to prevent an adult from gaining a job in the NFL until they're at least 3 yrs removed from graduating HS.

Yeah, but the NFL wants it that way just as much as the NCAA does. There is no minor league football to develop players like in baseball. The most talented players would want to enter te draft straight out of high school. And desperate teams would draft those players early, even though they know it will take a few years to turn them into good pros.

It's the same reason the NBA is now requiring one year of college. As talented as Kobe and LeBron were, they would have benefited a lot from a year in college. Not to mention the number of players taken right out of high school that never reached the stardom most people expected out of them. It might be unfair to the players, but it's really not significantly different from a law firm not hiring the best law student until he's finished with his degree.

As far as coaches leaving... yeah. Every team does it to another team that's lower on the totem pole. ND did it to UC, but most UC fans won't care about the team whose coach they steal. I think some rules do need to be put in to help out the freshmen who were recruited by a coach who is leaving.

I also think a team shouldn't be permitted to hire a new coach until the bowl season is over. I don't blame Kelly for feeling a need to get started with ND right away... but I don't think the NCAA should permit ND to woo him away prior to one of the most important games in UC history.