Brian Kelly Revisited (RIP BOZO)

[BabyIrish]

Mike Singer dropped some gold on the local SB radio station today. Said that the whole football department from top to bottom is on a whole different level. They’ve all bought into the same mission of winning a national championship and it apparently came off to the recruits very well. They had the feeling that ND is going to get a championship real soon. Great to hear the staff crushing it on these visits.

 

[ThePiombino]

Mike Singer dropped some gold on the local SB radio station today. Said that the whole football department from top to bottom is on a whole different level. They’ve all bought into the same mission of winning a national championship and it apparently came off to the recruits very well. They had the feeling that ND is going to get a championship real soon. Great to hear the staff crushing it on these visits.

This is awesome, but begs the questions - why did it take 11 years for everyone to decide a natty would be nice? lol

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

This is awesome, but begs the questions - why did it take 11 years for everyone to decide a natty would be nice? lol

Had to let a few of the elderly move on

 

[BobbyMac]

BK finally bought in to the most important thing in CFB. It's Jimmy's & Joe's, not X's & O's.

 

[NorthDakota]

BK finally bought in to the most important thing in CFB. It's Jimmy's & Joe's, not X's & O's.

King Kelly showing old dogs learn new tricks let's goooo

 

[pumpdog20]

Time to earn a statue.

 

[Irish#1]

This is awesome, but begs the questions - why did it take 11 years for everyone to decide a natty would be nice? lol

I think the major area was BK figuring out how to maneuver all of the restrictions and building relationships with those that hold the power. Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[ulukinatme]

Time to earn a statue.

I think the major area was BK figuring out how to maneuver all of the restrictions and building relationships with those that hold the power. Rome wasn't built in a day.

At this point a championship really is all that Kelly is missing to earn a statue. Hell, if he can maintain the level of success he's achieved the last 4 years he will have basically earned one for bringing ND back to the national discussion again. We may have fallen short in the championship games, but truthfully there is that upper echelon of 'Bama, Clemson, and tOSU and nobody else really comes close. Kelly has to be commended in some form for rebuilding this program to a contender despite the restrictions and limitations. When you look at what he and Jack have built they've left the program in much better condition than when they first came in.

 

[ThePiombino]

At this point a championship really is all that Kelly is missing to earn a statue.

Shit, I'd take a major bowl victory at this point...

 

[clashmore_mike]

[TWEET]https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/1409618112392011781?s=19[/TWEET]

 

[Huntr]

Some good stuff in the interview. This grabbed me, re: how well Freeman is doing. Kelly was talking about how everyone is raving about Freeman's recruiting and he was agreeing with that, but also saying that the coaching chops are there, too:

I think more than anything else, which you don’t see but I think we’ll see in the fall, is that he has a great connection with the players, and they trust them, they believe in him. He’s intelligent. So when he speaks, there’s not a rah-rah to it. I don’t want to make comparisons, but there’s the depth of a Clark Lea with the energy that is infectious. That plays well, especially with 18- to 21-year-olds.

 

[Trait Expectations]

Great interview on the athletic. Really enjoyable and I hope Kelly gets a title before he retires. He's done so much for the program to get them back into real competition.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Great interview on the athletic. Really enjoyable and I hope Kelly gets a title before he retires. He's done so much for the program to get them back into real competition.

He really has. I don't understand the BK haters at all anymore. Not after what he's done these past four years, reinventing himself and this program.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

He really has. I don't understand the BK haters at all anymore. Not after what he's done these past four years, reinventing himself and this program.

I was a massive BK Out guy starting about 2014. I have no qualms about it. That being said since the 2016 season, the turnaround of the football program has been immense. Id love to get an insiders honest assessment of the things that changed.

 

[Irish#1]

I was a massive BK Out guy starting about 2014. I have no qualms about it. That being said since the 2016 season, the turnaround of the football program has been immense. Id love to get an insiders honest assessment of the things that changed.

Per the article, I think part of it was the recruiting. Particularly the negatives schools use against ND. It reads like BK uses those as a positive and makes them part of the process during visits.


I'm going to toot my own horn here.

I think the major area was BK figuring out how to maneuver all of the restrictions and building relationships with those that hold the power. Rome wasn't built in a day.

He also mentioned this in the article.

But it’s not just with Father John and Jack. It’s with Admissions. It’s with the Dean of Students. It’s with the Provost Office. It’s really all of those pieces. If we’re struggling with admissions and if housing’s an issue, the way of life on campus, all those things, that’s what has been the 1,000 paper cuts of the head football coach at Notre Dame.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

I was a massive BK Out guy starting about 2014. I have no qualms about it. That being said since the 2016 season, the turnaround of the football program has been immense. Id love to get an insiders honest assessment of the things that changed.

I agree, I wasn't that early but certainly after 2016, I thought it was time to move on. But you have to tip your cap to Jack for sticking with him; BK must have sold him on his vision to right the ship, and it has paid immense dividends.

This year will be telling; we obviously lost a ton of talent from last year, but recruiting has been strong enough that I could see us reloading and getting another 10+ wins, which would be a remarkable feat. It would truly be our first "reload" over the past 4 years.

 

[NDdomer2]

He really has. I don't understand the BK haters at all anymore. Not after what he's done these past four years, reinventing himself and this program.

I was a massive BK Out guy starting about 2014. I have no qualms about it. That being said since the 2016 season, the turnaround of the football program has been immense. Id love to get an insiders honest assessment of the things that changed.

I think it's so many guys that arent like Cack where they are willing to change their opinion. They put their foot in the ground in 2014 and aren't moving it.


SIDE NOTE: How do you do the multi quote feature on the new site? I havent got it to work

 

[greyhammer90]

Is there anyone on this site who hasn't budged on their position since 2017? I don't think anyone reasonable could say that ND should terminate Kelly right now. I certainly thought he deserved to be terminated after 16 though.

 

[Trait Expectations]

I was a "wait and see" after the 2016 debacle. I wanted to see what he could do after he fired BVG. So far, his return on investment has been huge.

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

In this poll I voted to keep BK but I was subsequently unhappy with how the offseason was unfolding.

I thought that by forcing him to retool his entire staff ND was either just delaying the inevitable or poisoning the relationship with BK such that he would leave as soon as he got the chance.

I would have thought the events of 2017 to the present to be impossible.

So I tip my cap to BK. He's adapted better than anybody I can think of and the program will reap benefits even after he hangs it up.

I do wonder how many people took a hard line on him in 2016 and stayed away from ND football all this time.

 

[NDdomer2]

Is there anyone on this site who hasn't budged on their position since 2017? I don't think anyone reasonable could say that ND should terminate Kelly right now. I certainly thought he deserved to be terminated after 16 though.

I can certainly think of one

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Is there anyone on this site who hasn't budged on their position since 2017? I don't think anyone reasonable could say that ND should terminate Kelly right now. I certainly thought he deserved to be terminated after 16 though.

Pretty sure I've always been #TeamKelly. Even after 2016, I didn't think we could do better.

 

[calvegas04]

Driskell voted to fire

 

[Dale]

I wish the search feature could quickly show me all the dumb posts GK had over the years, alas I could only find one string

 

[Irish du Nord]

Pretty sure I've always been #TeamKelly. Even after 2016, I didn't think we could do better.

But it's Urban's dream job...

 

[drayer54]

Pretty sure I've always been #TeamKelly. Even after 2016, I didn't think we could do better.

You get a mulligan once a decade. He grew from it. Nobody else I’d rather have.

 

[Cackalacky2.0]

I’m not gonna rehash the inexplicable home losses to inferior teams, the BVG hire, flirting with the NFL in 2013, among other things but I’m certainly seeing Whiskeys POV a lot clearer now. We’ve been punching above our weight under Kelly with a huge ROI

 

[Irish#1]

I stayed in BK's corner and felt he deserved one more shot after 2016, but if he didn't make the magic I was done with him. I'm not sure we can do much better. IMO Saban or Meyer may have not done much better given the reduced talent pool to recruit from, the academics, etc.

 

[greyhammer90]

Pretty sure I've always been #TeamKelly. Even after 2016, I didn't think we could do better.

I should've been more clear with my initial question. I meant to ask if anyone is still on #TeamFireKelly since 2017. Even the unsatisfiable people on other boards seem to be more focused on firing offensive assistants rather than Kelly these days.

 

[greyhammer90]

I wish the search feature could quickly show me all the dumb posts GK had over the years, alas I could only find one string

I'll stick up for GK because he sure was correct about the direction of the program when he listed the majority of his complaints and started this thread. 2016 was nothing but vindication for his position.

Both of these statements can be true:
2016 was an inexcusable dumpster fire and BK deserved to be fired.
ND not firing BK was a great move.