Replies to: Was ND saved by a midlife crisis?
Only if the dude is going to live to 140. Saved by narcissism & greed.
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I have no idea what anyone ever saw in Kelly.
Maybe our administration wanted a coach to manage our decline. They were certainly NOT looking for an inspirational leader to incite a reassurance of the program like with Ara and Lou. And DAMN did they luck into Coach Freeman.
He left ND far better than he came into it
Probably one of the greatest college coaches of all time when it comes to coaching up unheralded players. He has proved that in his career. But that skill doesn't help you much at LSU.
He still went 34-14 there. We will see if they do better or end up hiring the next Mike Riley.
I do…given the incompetence that thrice preceded him. That said, I have no idea why he was retained.
...for as long as he was…when his personality, arrogance, pettiness, stubbornness and ceiling all became abundantly evident.
(Fear of the unknown coupled with all the prior poor choices...is my belief. So I may have some idea...)
Well, for one thing, they saw purple. A lot of purple.
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I could see Mich State or Rutgers hiring him.
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Jack was smitten with him
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After BK went 4-8 with BVG wasting talent but the powers that be
not wanting to go through a major coaching upheaval, Swarbrick saved Kelly from himself by forcing him to get real coordinators, which led to Elko, then Lea, then Freeman. BK deceived himself and LSU into thinking he was the reason for ND's turnaround. I know there are doubters, and Swarbrick certainly had his flaws, but the results since support the narrative that the AD coached the coach to improve himself.
Brian Kelly refused to criticize Van Gorder
He even said that the 2016 loss to Duke wasn't due to coaching.
https://campussports.net/2016/09/25/brian-kelly-throws-notre-dame-players-under-bus-after-latest-loss/
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZgUk0toDKQ
No question Swarbrick turned the program around after 2016… He gave Kelly one more chance…
He was solely responsible for those changes. Kelly returned the favor by taking the LSU job (thank God).
We couldnt have asked for anything better post 2021…except winning the nat title game last yr.
100%. Kelly brought us Freeman and Denbrock. Freeman brought Mickens + the other STUDS on the coachi
coaching staff. ND dodged a MAJOR BULLET. The Wisconsin coach, Luke Fickell, also struggling. ND is fortunate to have the leadership of MF. LFG IRISH
Kelly did NOT bring us Freeman/Denbrock…Swarbrick did
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Call it whatever u want, it was perfect timing.
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Almost...
There are some times I wish he would have at least waited until after the season were over.
We actually had a chance to make the playoffs in 2021, and his abruptly leaving like that, probably squashed any possibility of that happening.
Still, I'm grateful things turned out the way they did, especially since it gave Coach Freeman several more weeks of time to adjust to the HC job, and giving him time to hit the recruiting trail.
True
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Great time to dress up as Kelly for Halloween
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Hilarious!
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Not in SEC land.
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That. And $100M
The money was all of it.
Not Broadway, the SEC, or a different aisle.
Thank the stars LSU didn’t do their due diligence.