Brian Kelly Revisited (RIP BOZO)

Brian Kelly Revisited


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Bluto

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I agree with at assessment about BVG, but I really want to point out that the previous post referenced roller-coasters as the definition of the Kelly Era.

Well, Faust beat the DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPION at home, but even that was not enough to save him because his seasons were a roller coaster every year and every week. Roller coasters are not fun, ever, and you end up getting off of them, shortly after you get onto them. Seven years is a long enough roller coaster.

Kelly should be having consistently great years after year seven, it is just that simple. ND, with this level of talent, should never ever win fewer than 9 games. As I pointed out in a previous post, this is the fourth season out of seven that ND was out of the running for a national title under Kelly, and that 11 September losses in 7 years means you can count on at least one crippling loss early in the season, at least half the time. That is not a recipe for sustained success.

He has done great work rebuilding ND, but it is time to get someone who can finish the rebuilding process and take ND to the next level, because BK is not that guy. There is nothing wrong with that, and there is nothing wrong with admitting that, either.

It is clearly time for all parties to move onto the next phase.

Being a roller coaster ride describes 99% of college football programs during the entire BCS era. The only two programs I can think of that have consistently performed at a high level since its inception are Bama and Ohio State. Given what BK has faced at ND I think a roller coaster makes sense looking back. Anyhow, I specifically brought up the Vangorder hire because that appears to be what is ultimately going to be his undoing. Not his refusal to run the ball, offensive play calling, throwing people under the bus, ect. If he hires a DC who is even somewhat capable of recruiting and fielding a defense to replace Diaco I doubt we're having this conversation.
 
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stlnd01

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I just watched the presser. All nine brutal minutes. There's this narrative that Kelly's "throwing players under the bus." I don't know. I didn't see it.

Yes, he said the snapping sucked. It did. But he didn't say "Mustipher blew it." He said the offensive execution was inconsistent. Also true, and - I think to a guy like Kelly who values process - largely on the coaching. He took a lot of blame on himself and his coaching staff for not putting them in better position to win. And he pointed out that in all four losses we've had the ball late with a chance to win/tie and haven't closed the deal. Mostly he just looked beat.

Ultimately we've got a team that, for whatever reason, lacks mental toughness. Too many missed tackles. Too many dropped balls. Too many guys trying to do too much and making too many mistakes in the process. Some of that's on the coaching. Some of it's on the players. Either way it's frustrating as hell. There's no reason we shouldn't be undefeated. I suspect Kelly knows that.
 

stlnd01

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Being a roller coaster ride describes 99% of college football programs during the entire BCS era. The only two programs I can think of that have consistently performed at a high level since its inception are Bama and Ohio State. Given what BK has faced at ND I think a roller coaster makes sense looking back. Anyhow, I specifically brought up the Vangorder hire because that appears to be what is ultimately going to be his undoing. Not his refusal to run the ball, offensive play calling, throwing people under the bus, ect. If he hires a DC who is even somewhat capable of fielding a defense to replace Diaco I doubt we're having this conversation.

Of our four losses, today was the only one you can't pin overwhelmingly on the defense. And, while play calling certainly could have been better, in normal conditions I think we win today. (Because it was a close game and the weather seemed to cause us more problems than them.)
 

Spitfire

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It's going to be interesting revisiting the revisited thread at the end of the season because looking at the schedule we have a realistic possibility of ending 4-8 or 3-9. How do either of those possibilities sit with folks? To me that's an absolute dagger that Kelly's not coming back from.
 

Sherm Sticky

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I just watched the presser. All nine brutal minutes. There's this narrative that Kelly's "throwing players under the bus." I don't know. I didn't see it.

Yes, he said the snapping sucked. It did. But he didn't say "Mustipher blew it." He said the offensive execution was inconsistent. Also true, and - I think to a guy like Kelly who values process - largely on the coaching. He took a lot of blame on himself and his coaching staff for not putting them in better position to win. And he pointed out that in all four losses we've had the ball late with a chance to win/tie and haven't closed the deal. Mostly he just looked beat.

Ultimately we've got a team that, for whatever reason, lacks mental toughness. Too many missed tackles. Too many dropped balls. Too many guys trying to do too much and making too many mistakes in the process. Some of that's on the coaching. Some of it's on the players. Either way it's frustrating as hell. There's no reason we shouldn't be undefeated. I suspect Kelly knows that.



100% agree with this post. Kudo's for not following the bandwagon that Kelly throws players under the bus for this loss. Because he did not. And he did not throw Sam under the bus!


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ulukinatme

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How do we know that? He has always been open to returning to coaching if the right opportunity presented itself. Would that be ND? Might be. It's a candidate Swarbrick should contact to gauge his interest in if Kelly does get fired.

Why would Gruden come when there are plenty of NFL teams that will pay him more to come to coach at the professional level and not have to deal with the academics and recruiting? It's like suggesting a less successful Belichick would come to South Bend with no previous ties here. Where's the upside for him?

Why would anyone mock you. Gruden should be at the top of the list.


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I'll pay a trillion vBucks to anyone if Gruden comes back to coaching at the college level before going back to the NFL. I'm not even saying ND, I'm saying any college program. It's okay to dream, but it's unrealistic. I know as fans we'd like to think this is the greatest job in the world, but it's not.
 
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IrishJayhawk

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Why would Gruden come when there are plenty of NFL teams that will pay him more to come to coach at the professional level and not have to deal with the academics and recruiting? It's like suggesting a less successful Belichick would come to South Bend with no previous ties here. Where's the upside for him?



I'll pay a trillion vBucks to anyone if Gruden comes back to coaching at the college level before going back to the NFL. I'm not even saying ND, I'm saying any college program. It's okay to dream, but it's unrealistic. I know as fans we'd like to think this is the greatest job in the world, but it's not.

1. It's fake money.

2. You would still have 247 trillion vBucks.

3. I think you're right.
 

ulukinatme

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I just watched the presser. All nine brutal minutes. There's this narrative that Kelly's "throwing players under the bus." I don't know. I didn't see it.

Yes, he said the snapping sucked. It did. But he didn't say "Mustipher blew it." He said the offensive execution was inconsistent. Also true, and - I think to a guy like Kelly who values process - largely on the coaching. He took a lot of blame on himself and his coaching staff for not putting them in better position to win. And he pointed out that in all four losses we've had the ball late with a chance to win/tie and haven't closed the deal. Mostly he just looked beat.

Ultimately we've got a team that, for whatever reason, lacks mental toughness. Too many missed tackles. Too many dropped balls. Too many guys trying to do too much and making too many mistakes in the process. Some of that's on the coaching. Some of it's on the players. Either way it's frustrating as hell. There's no reason we shouldn't be undefeated. I suspect Kelly knows that.

Same. I didn't hear him throw a bunch of players under the bus. Said offensive execution needed to be better. He DID say we had trouble snapping the ball, but didn't say Mustipher by name. When asked about the final play, he said that Sam heard something at the line which caused him to snap the ball...which makes me think NC St. may have called out a false cadence since the rest of the line seemed to go too. Maybe the refs missed that.

I think what he said was all fair, he had more criticism for the coaches than anything. The one thing he didn't back down from was a comment about the play calling. He defended the number of passes we threw, citing that we had 38 carries (Which I think included sacks and QB runs from broken plays) and really only passed the ball when we needed to. I didn't agree with that portion, for obvious reasons given the weather. There's no reason we couldn't have carried the ball 50+ times in this game, it would have been fitting given the setting. I'm not saying we'd be necessarily more successful than we were today, but given the inability to connect on passes we couldn't have done worse imo.
 

ulukinatme

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1. It's fake money.

True, but I have 3 kids that like to break all my stuff...it's all I have :laugh:

2. You would still have 247 trillion vBucks.

It's open to everyone (up to 247 posters I guess), but I would jack it up to 10 trillion.

3. I think you're right.

You know it.

Word.
 

Spitfire

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Why would Gruden come when there are plenty of NFL teams that will pay him more to come to coach at the professional level and not have to deal with the academics and recruiting? It's like suggesting a less successful Belichick would come to South Bend with no previous ties here. Where's the upside for him?



I'll pay a trillion vBucks to anyone if Gruden comes back to coaching at the college level before going back to the NFL. I'm not even saying ND, I'm saying any college program. It's okay to dream, but it's unrealistic. I know as fans we'd like to think this is the greatest job in the world, but it's not.

Plenty of teams? I'm not sure he has interviewed for a single NFL coaching job since being fired in Tampa in 2009. I get the feeling that with his "fired football coaches of America" shtick that he might be a little disenthralled with returning to the pro ranks which is why he hasn't to date. The college game might suit him better as a "teacher of the game" and someone who would relish the challenge of recruiting. I think he would have the same impact as someone like Carrol or Harbaugh at the college level, which is something ND needs badly. I don't know that he would come to ND, but there are some family ties there and it might be the type of intriguing job that could bring him out of the booth. If this team continues to tank under Kelly as the season plays on....Gruden should be one of the first calls Swarbrick makes.
 

irishff1014

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That presser was tough to read his body language you can tell the weather kicked his ass.
 

NDRock

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Plenty of teams? I'm not sure he has interviewed for a single NFL coaching job since being fired in Tampa in 2009. I get the feeling that with his "fired football coaches of America" shtick that he might be a little disenthralled with returning to the pro ranks which is why he hasn't to date. The college game might suit him better as a "teacher of the game" and someone who would relish the challenge of recruiting. I think he would have the same impact as someone like Carrol or Harbaugh at the college level, which is something ND needs badly. I don't know that he would come to ND, but there are some family ties there and it might be the type of intriguing job that could bring him out of the booth. If this team continues to tank under Kelly as the season plays on....Gruden should be one of the first calls Swarbrick makes.

I could see Gruden being a great college coach and I could see him flaming out big time. He's very intriguing and I would be excited if he actually came here (doubt it), just wonder if he's a little too NFLish for college. Of course I'm a little gun shy after Weis and BVG.
 

jays

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In fairness Kelly is dealing with a ton of injuries right now. This is a different looking team if everyone is healthy. Depth needs to be better however.
 

Bluto

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It's not a roller coaster. It's consistently 8-5 or worse. It's consistently losing big games.

With Tommy Reese as your QB, Joe Schmidt as your go to guy on defense, dealing with team Revo et al and Van Gorder as your DC that's actually pretty good.
 
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Sherm Sticky

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In fairness Kelly is dealing with a ton of injuries right now. This is a different looking team if everyone is healthy. Depth needs to be better however.



I don't get it. What injuries?


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ulukinatme

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Gruden is the coach fans throw out when they're desperate and don't know what else to do. I don't think we've hit rock bottom yet...at least I hope not. Either way, it's a dead end. He hasn't interviewed for positions because he doesn't seem to be interested, at least in the past.
 

irish o'phile

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Based on message board/Facebook posts in ND related pages, 95% of the fanbase has turned on him. It wasnt like that a short time ago. Losing is part of it, but I think his response in blaming is what has done it.
 

Sherm Sticky

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Brian Kelly Revisited

Based on message board/Facebook posts in ND related pages, 95% of the fanbase has turned on him. It wasnt like that a short time ago. Losing is part of it, but I think his response in blaming is what has done it.



But who did he blame other than himself and the coaches after today?


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levicarvalho

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Choose one:

Chip Kelly (If he gets fired)
Tom Herman
Bobby Petrino
Chris Petersen
PJ Fleck
Bryan Harsin
Les Miles
Brent Venables
Jeremy Pruitt
Matt Patricia
Todd Bowles (If he gets fired)
Jon Gruden
Brett Bielema
Willie Taggart
Jim Mora Jr.
Greg Schiano
Kyle Whittingham
Justin Fuente
Dana Holgorsen
Gary Patterson
Paul Chryst
Mark Dantonio
David Shaw
Gus Malzahn
Hugh Freeze
Sean Payton (If he gets fired)
Phill Montgomery
Art Briles
Jedd Fisch
 

ulukinatme

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Choose one:

Chip Kelly (If he gets fired)
Tom Herman
Bobby Petrino
Chris Petersen
PJ Fleck
Bryan Harsin
Les Miles
Brent Venables
Jeremy Pruitt
Matt Patricia
Todd Bowles (If he gets fired)
Jon Gruden
Brett Bielema
Willie Taggart
Jim Mora Jr.
Greg Schiano
Kyle Whittingham
Justin Fuente
Dana Holgorsen
Gary Patterson
Paul Chryst
Mark Dantonio
David Shaw
Gus Malzahn
Hugh Freeze
Sean Payton (If he gets fired)
Phill Montgomery
Art Briles
Jedd Fisch

Sure, we could have any one of those.
 

dmort

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The players have to execute,if they cant then that is a recruiting fail.Denbrock was calling the plays,i am sure Kelly had input.After the game Kelly took the blame.Unless the University is willing to pay $20m for Kelly not to coach,then there needs to be a shakeup in the off season.
 

irishtrain

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Still think this is a very good coach (maybe great) but probably not here. It seems like he's lost these guys a bit. Also I don't think they beat NCState on a dry field. They'd get run thru on defense and the offense would just have big yards, points etc in another catch up game. It may be time for a change but I still think this guy is a quality coach just not here anymore. Things may change--they often do but I think he's out of patience with the whole Notre dame culture and would like a do over. That's just me and my opinion but he looks worn out. Notre Dame will do that to you, just ask Lou. Bad day all around and my only real criticism is why not run the ball more if you have this reputed offensive line strength. Either he doesn't think his O line is very good or he's very hard headed. They knew it was going to be a crazy foul weather day so somebody really made a bad decision on a game plan and who is responsible but the head man. I don't like criticizing this guy but that was about as bad as I've seen at Notre Dame. One thing I know for sure no big boy coach is coming here to rescue the program--Kelly is an example of the best Notre dame can get. $$$$$$ is not the issue, its who they can get in to play--Brian Kelly knows that now. I think we are just fooling ourselves if we think we can get a coach of better quality than Kelly---(he's a very good coach) and the savior coach would never take on Notre Dames culture. They wouldn't even consider a coach like that at Notre Dame because what he would want they would never allow.
 
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kmoose

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I think Kelly has probably run his course at ND. But a couple of things:

1. He should, and most likely will, get to coach out the rest of this season.

2. Let's maintain some perspective: Kelly is a good coach, his record is absolutely proof of this, so let's quit talking like the guy is incompetent or is purposely tanking games.

3. Kelly did not throw anyone under the bus, and the players have to take ALL of the responsibility for not being able to execute the most basic of football functions like a snap. Kelly can take the fall for the game plan, but the players have to execute.
 
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