NCAA Football

Brian Kelly Will Get It Done At Notre Dame

I don’t like Notre Dame football (similar to all non-ND fans), but I know when they’ve made a smart decision. Hiring Brian Kelly was one of them. He sat down for an interview with rivals.com recently, and I came out of reading it the same way I felt going in – for the first time in a while, Notre Dame is going to win big.

That might not happen right away, and Kelly knows it – that’s why, while saying there’s no such thing as a five year plan and that they must “immediately compete at the highest level,” also smartly manages expectations:

Q: “Is the personnel you inherited capable of running your offense?”

A: “No, not right now. But we are making progress toward that. It will take a while for us to be full throttle here. ? There are enough skill players for us to spread the field and keep pressure on defenses. It will take us some time to condition ourselves and mentally pick up to where we need to be. I see this as a process for us offensively. I don’t see us hitting the ground and running. It is going to take a little while.”

Successful college coaches – especially at big-name programs – have to be part politician to do well, and Kelly has that gene (I mean, he really that gene: as the Rivals piece points out, he’s “the son of a Boston politician”). His smart handling of the media, evident in this interview, is an important part of the job.

No one doubted Kelly could coach: here’s his career record. Success everywhere. (As a Rutgers alum/fan, I got unfortunately up close and personal with this the last three years, when Kelly took Cincinnati to new heights.) And reports from Kelly’s first spring practice in South Bend indicated he’s well on his way to installing his way of doing things – which, let’s face it, works.

What people did doubt was whether Kelly could recruit at an elite level. Considering he went 34-6 at Cincinnati with players non one else deemed “elite,” it would be natural to follow up this question with, “Well…does he need to?” But even absent that, early returns are promising. Rivals ranked his first Notre Dame signing class 14th nationally – not bad considering he had just about a month and a half to hold it together. And his class for next year is taking shape quite nicely as well.

It means nothing until his teams take the field, of course, but for now, everything seems to be going according to Kelly’s plan. And Kelly’s plan has never produced anything less than winning. Unfortunately for Notre Dame haters (again, like me), that’s not about to change. But Notre Dame football is – for the better. Damn.

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