LSU head coach Brian Kelly remains in headlines after his former program, Notre Dame, punched its ticket to the National Championship last Thursday night.
The Fighting Irish are one win away from capturing the first National Championship since 1988 under Lou Holtz, but Kelly’s name remains in the limelight.
Kelly spent 12 seasons with the Fighting Irish prior to departing South Bend and heading to Baton Rouge in 2022.
The reason for departing Notre Dame: “I want to be in an environment where I have the resources to win a national championship.”
Despite Kelly and his staff in Notre Dame being unable to get over the hump and winning a National Championship during his stint with the Fighting Irish, he believes the program can do so next Monday against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
“I’m happy for all those guys, I pull for them,” Kelly told CBS Sports as he exited an American Football Coaches Association meeting Tuesday in Charlotte. “A lot of the guys there that are on both sides of the ball, I recruited. Obviously I want to see those guys win it all, and I think they’re in a great position. Totally excited for those guys.”
The criticism Kelly has received isn’t new to one of the top coaches in college football history.
He sent shockwaves across the college football scene in November of 2021 after revealing he would be taking his coaching brilliance to the Southeastern Conference and departing Notre Dame.
It’s nothing new to him, and even after departing South Bend, he remains a hot topic.
During an appearance on The Matt Barrie Show over the weekend, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum chimed in on Kelly’s previous comments prior to leaving Notre Dame:
“My relationship with Brian Kelly is very close. He comes on show every Monday,” Finebaum said. “He’s likable, but he used to be very surly, and when he was at Notre Dame, he was not that likable. He had that 28 point blowout against Alabama in the [2012] national championship game. He had two other inexplicable playoff appearances, and I understand his frustration.
“It’s also, you’ve been in a place for a long time, and it’s just not the same. And to me, he made a good decision, but it’s one of those situations where the words will haunt him. And he said it, not you, not me, about not about going someplace where the resources were, and lost four games this year and he was nowhere near the national championship.
“Having been around a lot of Notre Dame fans this year, I was with them all week in New Orleans a week ago — I mean, they are getting as much joy out of winning as they are rubbing it in Brian Kelly’s face.”
But Kelly isn’t letting it phase him. He’s proud of what he built at Notre Dame and was ready for a new challenge with the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.
“They’re selling it the way they want to sell it,” he told CBS Sports. “Why do you leave Notre Dame? You leave Notre Dame because you’re taking another challenge. I took Notre Dame to championships.
“It’s just the way you want to twist it: ‘You only leave Notre Dame to go win a championship.’ I wasn’t leaving Notre Dame because I couldn’t win a championship. You can win championships at Notre Dame, but I chose another path because I wanted a different challenge.”
During Kelly’s tenure with the Fighting Irish, he was 113-40 overall but 1-7 against AP top-five teams during those 12 seasons.
Now, his successor, Marcus Freeman, is 3-2 against top-five teams – including two wins in the College Football Playoff. Those numbers come across three seasons he’s been at the helm of the program.
Now, the message is clear: Kelly will be rooting for his old program as they chase their first National Championship since 1988.
Despite the outside noise, backlash and critics, Kelly will be tuned in on Monday night where he hopes to see his former players return to the pinnacle of college football.
Leave a Reply