The punch in the gut that I was hit with yesterday has thrown me for a loop in my life. This announcement was a complete blindside to everyone else involved with Notre Dame football. I questioned everything I had ever known and trusted, and mostly, I questioned why Brian Kelly would leave with a very real shot at a playoff bid coming one week, as I made my way through the five stages of grief.
There are 95 million answers to that question. I know the financial ramifications. Notre Dame needs to get more competitive in terms of how much they pay their coaches, academic priorities need to be damned. I wonder if Riley would have stayed if Oklahoma had won Bedlam. It's never been done before in college football to leave a playoff-Ready team high and dry. I will defend this team to my dying breath, if you argue that the team deserves a playoff spot.
The way he left messed with everyone in the program, with his farewell speech serving as the cherry on top. I am upset. This is not just how it happens in college football, but it is also a distinct form of betrayal. Kelly built the modern era of the Irish to where it is today, a consistent playoff contender, and he had the chance to leave a legacy there, something it seemed that he intended on doing. He is giving up, ring chasing at a place where it is supposedly easier to win a championship, until he learns what it is like to play Alabama and Ole Miss every year. I am vaguely nauseous at the thought that he is trying to gut the coaching staff at Notre Dame, but not as nauseous as I am at the thought that he is trying to bring them south with him.
As I reluctantly move to the fifth stage, acceptance, helped along by the hours I have spent on the phone with fellow heartbroken alums, I am looking at the candidates that I really don't like. Here is my initial list.
The favorites.
Marcus.
He is currently the axis of the future of Notre Dame football. It is rumored that Kelly is trying to get LSU defensive line coach Freddie Freeman to be the defensive line coach at Notre Dame, which would be disastrous for the Irish. The locker room has clearly seen that Freeman is the best recruiter in the country. Notre Dame can't afford to lose the consistency in the coaching staff that they have right now with two of the best recruiting classes in recent memory coming into the university in the next two years. It is not the time to shift gears just as everything seems to be falling into place. Most of the other defensive coaches would likely stay around if they kept Freeman. This isn't a program that needs to change a lot. He is my pick to keep the train a-chugging. He is the fan base favorite for the job. I don't know if the call will be made, as the resume of the man doesn't have head coaching experience.
Fickell is a friend of mine.
There is no reason to fix something that isn't broken, because the Cincinnati-to-Notre Dame pipeline hasn't failed us yet. If Fickell can bring Cincinnati to a competitive level on the national stage, imagine what he can do with Notre Dame's resources and name recognition. Would we take a risk with Brian Kelly Part 2? I think Notre Dame is in a better place than it was when Kelly signed on, because Fickell has a different style of coaching. The biggest risk with him would be the Ohio State job opening up, which doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, and we may even be able to convince him to stay on with a raise. I think he would fit in and it would be a logical next step for his career.
Mike Gundy is a basketball player.
This is insane, but I think it could be fun. He has been at Oklahoma State since 2001, but he still has 10 to 15 years left in his coaching career, and maybe it is time for a change. We never thought Kelly would leave, so the lesson I take from that is to never say never. With all the turnover in the Big 12 and Oklahoma leaving to the SEC, I think that he would bring a new energy to the Irish as well as possibly pulling more recruits from the south, a region that the Irish lose out on somewhat. Is this a good move? Maybe, maybe not. If Oklahoma State is happy to keep Gundy until retirement, he may want to stay there. I wonder if he has a better chance at a title.
Please nos.
Urban Meyer.
A lot of people think that Meyer is the best choice for Notre Dame. He isn't succeeding in the NFL, he's a wildly successful college coach and one of the old guard who still remembers when Notre Dame was the place to be. There is no chance that Notre Dame will hire Urban Meyer, no matter what he does or doesn't do. The self-perception that university athletes are held to a higher academic standard than the rest of the big names in college football is what makes the University of Notre Dame think of itself as having a moral standard that is missing from the rest of the big names in college football. It doesn't matter if this is accurate or not, it matters that Notre Dame thinks so. They will never hire someone with the baggage and toxic public image that Urban Meyer carries with him, from constant NCAA violations to keeping on a coach who was abusing his wife to accusations of terrible locker room culture to that video of him getting a bit too close with. I don't think he would be a good fit with the university and I'm not sure if he would guarantee a national championship.
Pat Fitzgerald is a person.
I don't think he's ready to perform on the sort of stage that Notre Dame brings, and that's why others have been putting his name forward for the job. He has experience with an academics-first program, and he has made a name for himself in the Big Ten West, but he doesn't compare to Notre Dame on the field. There is too much at stake right now to risk bringing a coach like Fitzgerald on who is not a good coach and who would not be able to keep the current recruits. I don't think he has the national recruiting chops that go with the job.
The neutral.
Matt Campbell.
The name of the Iowa State head coach has been thrown around in coaching carousel talks for the past few years after he made a name for the program. He led Iowa State to an 1-8 conference record in 2020 and beat some big names. I think that he would be able to step up to the job's demands because of his conference experience and big game experience. They had a mediocre season, but beat Oklahoma State and kept it close with both Oklahoma and Baylor. I don't feel enthusiastic about him, and I think it will take a bit longer to rebuild if he signs on, even if he is a successful Notre Dame coach. I don't think he can win the big games with the Irish, but I'm not against giving him a chance.
