Here's how Sports Illustrated descrivbed it in an artciel by Pete Thamel in March 2017 (link below):
"Chad Klunder, the program’s associate athletic director for football operations, joined Swarbrick and Kelly for the final two-and-a-half hours of their marathon postseason meeting. He jotted down on paper what Kelly and Swarbrick discussed and began the on-the-ground process of vetting, recruiting and setting up interviews with potential coaches. A holistic interview process was stressed, much different than the shotgun assistant coach hiring practices so common in college football. Notre Dame interviewed five strength coaches, three wide receivers coaches, three offensive coordinators and two defensive coordinators. “I was working with Brian to make sure Brian was getting what he wanted and that Jack’s vision and expectations were being met,” Klunder says. 'I really served as a conduit between the two of them.'"
So they're saying Swarbrick and Kelly sat down with Klunder assisting. Notice the last sentence: "Jack's vision and expectations" were the standard.
Here's one of the interviews Swarbrick gave after the 2017 bounce-back season, from The Observer:
“I think it was important for the team, I think it was important for the University,” Swarbrick said. “The significance of the program [contributes to] so much of what we do at the University. In that sense, it’s hard to overstate its importance. We needed to demonstrate, as we believe strongly, the previous year was an aberration.”
“Now, part of proving that is taking a hard look at it and deciding what you had to change and what was wrong. [Head coach Brian] Kelly did an unbelievable job of examining every aspect of the program, and making some tough decisions about the changes that needed to be made, and executing on all those changes. It started with a very focused engagement with the students who played for him, to say ‘what can you share with me? How can we make sure this doesn’t happen again?’ He heard those messages, and he made a host of changes and I feel great about where the program is right now. Culturally it is as strong as it has been in my 11 years here, and I have every confidence that will manifest itself on the field.”
There's a delineation between what "the university" saw had to be done and what BK himself actually did. I could spend time looking for additional inside the program reporting that says Swarbrick and Fr. Jenkins, faced with intense pressure to fire Kelly after the 4-8 season, decided to re-boot with new coordinators. It has worked and saved the University a massive buyout, so kudos to them.
Link: https://www.si.com/college-football/2017/03/08/brian-kelly-notre-dame-fighting-irish-changes