Kelly is who he is. A guy that can take mid-range talent and coach them up as high as possible. He has worked small miracles given his mediocre recruiting classes, but at the end of the day we are still Indiana of Bob Knight of the late 80's and 90's. A well coached team that lakes the horses to compete with the top of the heap. Now, my personal opinion is we are not going to do any better than this. I would rather win ten games a year than revert back to what Nebraska and Michigan are right now. Hell, I still have PTSD from losing five straight to BC.
It sucks, but it is what it is sometimes. I do not believe most of the elite talent Holtz led would even visit ND today.