im not saying kelly is the best coach and should be at ND forever and all that. I was putting a lot of my faith in him on how they played in the LSU game. I figured if they came out flat and got beat up, then it was probably time to part ways and that would be best for both parties. Now they came out pretty good, for a bowl game, and had a lot of high points this year (definitely some low ones as well). Given where everything is right now, today, i am happy he is staying. There are so many improvements to this program since he has been there. They are not far off where they need to be and have been close to getting over that hump a number of times.
My opinion, which doesnt mean much, is that i think the ND coach should average about 9 wins a season. 10 wins would be a great year, with 8 being disappointing. BUT every 4-5 years there has to be a serious push for the NC, and that means making the playoffs or being the next one out, so basically 11+ wins. I just feel like that is a realistic goal and can show a solid & stable program. If you expect your team to win 11 a year, and your not named Alabama, you are going to be disappointing. And when saban is gone, they will regress as well.
All in all, i think kelly has brought some stability to this program, now he has to better. I think early on, his team suffered because we started having guys perform good enough to leave early for the NFL. this was not something ND was use to and we didn't have the depth to replace the guys leaving every year. I believe we are moving away from that problem, but now we are facing the problem of people wanting our coaches. Once again, the program has to be strong enough to absorb that blow every year.
All in all, i think kelly can put together a team to win a NC, whether or not he will... i guess we will see. Its a fun game though.