both of you, but with a couple of additions....
"Agree with you about the "bidness"...Kelly has delivered consistent 10-12 win seasons recently yet among his peers...most of whom have done far worse...he doesn't even make the Top 50 list in compensation...then along comes LSU with their "Take it or Leave It...NOW" offer. Not sure how many on this board wouldn't take such an offer in their chosen profession.
I really don't like where CFB is headed...the very fact that HC's are paid Top 0.1% wealth is nuts...the message to not only the college players, but also every aspiring kid in H.S. or pee-wee leagues is that "monetization" is the ONLY measure. I'm guessing that the ND Padres have been trying to find a balance, but the prospects of pulling that off now are close to nil...speaking of "NIL", that's just another example of this mentality...don't like what that portends for the University going forward. It's not their fault...not Kelly's fault...it's OUR collective fault IMO...we never, ever raise our voices in opposition to this ethic...
I'm very interested...and concerned...about how the ND Admin/Trustees handle this...clearly, football is part of ND's DNA, but for us it's a bit different than Alabama...or at least it has been...we REALLY care about 'Student Athletes' and football being just a 'part' of the ND experience.
As an aside...when I was in H.S. and looking at colleges, I visited ND on a home football weekend...lots of fun all around campus and the Irish won the game...but that year, and previous years they hadn't done very well and never even sniffed a NC...but it didn't matter...it was the whole package that I was interested in. Yes, the added joy of being in contention and being able to puff one's chest out at being "National Champion" is terrific (thank you, Ara), but that shouldn't define ND's "Success". I trust that Fr. Jenkins and the Trustees still see things that way...I don't envy them in this current environment.
As for speaking to the kids...I don't have a problem with it...some will appreciate it, some may not, but I believe there are some genuine feelings involved that need to be expressed face-to-face."
Finally, as for Kelly leaving so abruptly...Swarbrick lured him away from Cincy 11 years ago in the dead of night, so there's no way he didn't see this coming after numerous conversations with Kelly regarding his "discomfort" with current pay relative to his peers, etc....as Conor said, with the way information travels today, you have to close immediately...sad, but true.
Let's all pray that we find another coach like Ara who is supremely talented as a HC, and REALLY buys into the total ND experience....
Edit: spelling