The Notre Dame football program and fans were still reeling from the news of Brian Kelly's sudden and shocking departure. LSU quickly began to talk about winning titles after Kelly hopped on a plane to Baton Rouge on Tuesday morning. The path to the next head coach of the Irish football program became clear after the initial shock subsided.
Marcus Freeman is a former Ohio State and Cincinnati player who spent four years in the DC position. He has never been a head coach before. Kelly brought him to Notre Dame after he was hired as the head coach at Commodores. His short time with the program, his youth, and lack of experience may seem to be marks against him. The athletes, recruits, alums, former players, fans, and boosters rallied around him like I have never seen before. The recruits told reporters that they would decommit if he wasn't the next head coach, and the alumni hosted a space on the message boards with a call from fans.
The news broke that Kelly was offering almost all of his former staff a raise to join him at LSU, including Tommy Rees, who was the quarterback at Notre Dame. The fans were optimistic, but Notre Dame is not known for opening up their pockets in this sort of situation. The players took matters into their own hands again, using the #PayTommyRees on the day that athletic director Jack Swarbrick was set to meet with him to discuss his future at Notre Dame following reports that LSU was offering him a $400K raise. Tommy Rees got paid because he told the team on Wednesday night that he was staying.
Rumors from anonymous sources that the next head coach would be a Black man, and that the university president would have to sign off on the hire, were just about everywhere. As the Irish coaches circled the wagons, the strength and conditioning coach became more than just a rumor. Staying. The running backs coach? Staying. Is the tight ends coach? South Bend is still there. Mike Elston was the defensive line coach for nearly two decades and followed Kelly from Central Michigan to Cincinnati. Staying. At. Notre. Dame.
People in the program were rubbed the wrong way by the way Kelly left, particularly with a chance to see the playoffs on New Years' Eve. It isn't enough to make everyone stick around. The staff seems to have faith in him. The decision of the coaches to stay may be the most important thing about where the program is headed after nearly being destroyed by Kelly. On Monday night, the fans were in a state of despair, and by Wednesday evening, they were more optimistic about the future of the Irish football program than I have ever seen them.
The old guard at Notre Dame may be coming to an end, with a 35-year-old at the helm and a 29-year-old as second-in-command. What does Notre Dame look like without the retirement-age guys yelling at the kids? Hopefully better. Hopefully different. I am confident that he will be able to bring about some real change without the historical context, as he was two years old when Notre Dame last won a national championship. The program is quickly closing ranks and Kelly is giving the players a lot of motivation by telling them that he doesn't think Notre Dame can win a championship. The hiring of a young Black coach indicates a culture shift for the program, a changing of the guard to the next generation that might finally be able to win it all.
