Category: NewsWatch

“… NOTRE DAME: Though Brian Kelly said unequivocally that he would be back … and has publicly had the support of athletics director Jack Swarbrick, school officials were furious about reports over the weekend that his representatives are exploring coaching options for Kelly outside of Notre Dame. … The tension between Notre Dame, Kelly and his agent Trace Armstrong dates to last season when, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, there was at least a conversation on behalf of Kelly with Southern Cal, who ultimately gave the job to Clay Helton. After that, Notre Dame awarded Kelly a six-year extension, and you can’t blame the school for being upset that its loyalty is being repaid less than a year later by rumors that he’s looking to leave. ….”

“During one of several embarrassments in a 4-8 season full of them, #NotreDame coach #BrianKelly defended his style by referring to himself in the third person. ‘I’m being Brian Kelly, so if people have a problem with that, then they’re not going to be friends or fans of Notre Dame football,’ Kelly said in mid-October. ‘I’m just going to be who I am.’ Therein lies Notre Dame’s biggest problem … Kelly being Kelly. … Kelly’s hubris stands in the way of Notre Dame restoring its football program to exemplary status from one damaged by academic scandal, an underachieving roster and a coach incapable of looking in the mirror. Everybody knows Notre Dame needs to hire a dynamic defensive coordinator and retool the offense, likely with a new quarterback. But self-improvement poses Kelly’s greatest challenge. …”

“In three words, Brian Kelly expressed his desire to return as Notre Dame’s football coach …. ‘I’ll be back,’ he said with … Jack Swarbrick, nodding and smiling in the audience at the … Coliseum after a 45-27 loss against USC. But when all was said and done with the Irish’s forgettable 4-8 season … more was said than done. Then, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, even more was said about how Kelly does not intend to be done as head coach of the Irish. In a tweet sent after 2 a.m., the school released a statement in wake of a Yahoo report … suggesting Kelly had been putting out feelers for other jobs. …”