Why Brian Kelly is the Right Guy for Notre Dame

22 years. That's how long it's been since Notre Dame's last National Championship. It's been 18 years since the Fighting Irish won a bowl game that is now labeled a BCS game. Since Lou Holtz's successful tenure in South Bend ended following the 1996 season, Notre Dame has had three head coaches and no BCS wins. The last three years for Notre Dame have been especially rough; the Notre Dame faithful have watched their beloved Irish lose to the likes of Syracuse and witnessed a 43 game winning streak against the Naval Academy end in South Bend. It's not that long ago that a 41 yard field goal by Boston College kicker David Gordon thwarted a perfect season and cost Notre Dame its second national championship in six years. Following the firing of Tyrone Willingham following the 2004 season, the Irish heavily sought then Utah coach Urban Meyer; Meyer chose Florida and Notre Dame turned its sights to the NFL and landed New England Patriots' Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis. Hopes were high after Notre Dame made consecutive BCS appearances in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, the Irish finished 3-9. 2007 marked Notre Dame's worst season in 47 years. The last two seasons, Notre Dame has compiled a combined record of 13-12. Enter Brian Kelly; Kelly left Cincinnati for Notre Dame in December following a 12-0 regular season. At his introduction as Notre Dame head football coach, Kelly spoke of how he grew up a young Catholic watching the Fighting Irish. He spoke of what a great opportunity it was to coach at Notre Dame: "There is a football coach and then there's the football coach at Notre Dame, because nobody, nobody does it like Notre Dame," said Kelly. Many in South Bend are confident that Notre Dame has its guy.

Aside from Kelly's enthusiasm and admiration for the program, his track record speaks for itself. Brian Kelly coached Division II Grand Valley State to three consecutive National Championship appearances from 2001-2003, winning the last two. Rather than taking the Jim Tressel route of jumping from lower-level champion to a big time program, Kelly has worked his way through the ranks. In 2004, Kelly reloctaed to Mount Pleasant, Michigan and tiny Central Michigan University. Kelly took over a Chippewas program that had won just 12 games in the previous four years and excelled. By his third season in Mount Pleasant, Central Michigan was a 9-4 football team. The following season, Kelly left Mount Pleasant for an up-and-coming Cincinnati program. Kelly took an 8-5 Bearcats team to ten wins in his first season. The following season, Cincinnati captured its first Big East title and a BCS birth in the Orange Bowl. Last season, Kelly led Cincinnati to a 12-0 regular season.

If there is a knock on Brian Kelly, it could be that he is quick to "jump ship" and change jobs. What makes Kelly a great hire for Notre Dame is that he contends that this is his dream job. His actions prove it; Kelly declined an opportunity to defeat defending national champion, Florida in the Sugar Bowl and complete the first perfect season in Cincinnati's school history (unless you include a 1-0 finish in 1887) to become the head football coach at Notre Dame. Despite his remarkable 33-6 record, what has made Kelly a rising star in the coaching ranks is his ability to win with less. Kelly's recruiting classes at Cincinnati failed to bring in the talent that conference foes such as Pittsburgh, West Virginia and South Florida were able to attain. Yet, Cincinnati compiled a 17-4 conference record during Kelly's tenure. Few coaches in college football develop players as well as Brian Kelly has over the last several years. Kelly touted his ability and track record of developing talent as a selling point after being hired as the head man of the Fighting Irish. Kelly built what is still a consistent MAC power at Central Michigan and improved a program on the rise at Cincinnati. The cupboard in South Bend is not exactly bare; Kelly inherits a program that has merited top 25 recruiting classes in each of the last five years. Over the past several years, Notre Dame has been criticized for its weak schedule and its mediocre win-loss record. Kelly has shown that he is not afraid to take on power-house programs. Last season, Kelly and Cincinnati traveled to Corvallis and beat an Oregon State team that was one quarter away from representing the Pac-10 conference in the Rose Bowl. In 2008, Kelly took his team to Norman to take on Oklahoma. Kelly is not shy when it comes to scheduling upper echelon opponents. There are plenty of reasons for the Notre Dame faithful to be optimistic. Kelly is a proven winner, he develops players and doesn't seem to mind the pressure that comes with the high-profile atmosphere. While Notre Dame's best years seem to be in front of them, there is no reason to believe the Irish can't win right away. Assessing the 2010 schedule, seven wins is a probability, eight is a possibility and nine is a reality. Although there is no certainty that Notre Dame will play for a national championship or even beat Southern Cal in the near future, Kelly's track record and his passion for Notre Dame football can give confidence to many that Notre Dame has finally hired the right guy.