Brian Kelly's Newfound Clean Image?

Submitted by UNCWolverine on
I posted something similar a week or two ago but don't recall where it went. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't BK not highly considered for the Michigan job because he said some un-PC statements or something to that effect? I think I remember some possible skeletons in his closet that kept him off the short list. Assuming that is the case how is he seen fit for the ND position? Wouldn't you think that the ND job would require someone squeaky clean? Am I missing something, or is ND that desperate to win that they would simply overlook past transgressions?

Dan Man

December 5th, 2009 at 2:09 PM ^

"Transgressions" - was he sleeping with waitresses? Seriously, though, I've always wondered what, if anything, he did to make Michigan not consider him...

Pay the Dragon

December 5th, 2009 at 2:33 PM ^

http://www.cm-life.com/2005/09/23/kellyraceplayedroleinsilence The guy made a statement that was wrong, but to hold that over his head might be a little harsh since he apologized and forgiveness etc. There is no right way to handle this situation, yes he should have been more sensitive to the situation and not characterize race as the factor for silence and violence. Nobody wants to rat out a teammate, so he would have been much better off going with a family reason for silence because given the situation I am sure that people would not "squeal" when there is the possiblity of implicating a family member in a crime. Another thing is that this all happened before the guy coached a game. His discipline wasn't even established in the program yet, so you can't put much of the blame on him. He's a great coach, hopefully Notre Dame undeservingly does use that as a factor to screw up their opportunity to put a winner in as head coach and settle for another .565-.583 winning percentage coach like the past 3.

jmblue

December 5th, 2009 at 3:17 PM ^

"Insiders" say that Kelly had worse skeletons in his closet than that. They've never come out, though (and in our case, they can't be related to his political views). It's been reported that when he was at GVSU, Kelly would call up benchwarmers at MAC schools and encourage them to transfer. I don't know if that would qualify as a skeleton, although I guess it seems mildly shady.

CheckOutMyRod

December 5th, 2009 at 2:47 PM ^

that he is a pretty "dirty" recruiter and not that great of a guy. I could be wrong but I thought I had seen something along those lines. Which by all means doesnt make them true. So who knows.

Tater

December 5th, 2009 at 3:42 PM ^

...those who already liked him are going to like him even more. Pittsburgh is a very though place to come back from 14 down, especially when it's cold.

WolverineEagle

December 5th, 2009 at 3:43 PM ^

His defenses have never been any good. Yes, he has alot of success, but he always dominated with offense. As we have seen at UM, that doesn't work at the highest level. Kelly hasn't had to coach against teams with NFL caliber talent on a consistent basis.

Robbie Moore

December 5th, 2009 at 3:52 PM ^

Grand Valley, Central Michigan, Cincinnati. Win, win and win a lot more. And of course, people say he it's only because he is an offensive genius. The same thing could, and probably was, said about Urban Meyer as he left Utah for Florida. I don't know if Kelly will win at the next level but I like his chances. As for skeletons in the closet, how many really successful ones don't have 'em?

winterblue75

December 5th, 2009 at 3:54 PM ^

He may be a great offensive mind, but he is a classless jerk. He called out his FG kicker at halftime by saying his kicker was just someone who wanted to get on the field (knowing he couldn't make the kick,the 55 yd before half). Also, everyone remembers back in early Jan 1998 when Scott Frost openly begged the voters to vote Nebraska....well today Kelly openly rooted for Nebraska to beat Texas tonight in his sideline interview after the game. While it is perfectly fine to be thinking it and wanting it inside, my god man you are a head football coach in a very small fraternity, keep it to yourself. Just say something like "we did what we could do, let's see what happens". Coaches openly rooting and campaigning(Urban) just seems sleazy and childish.

BlueTimesTwo

December 5th, 2009 at 5:56 PM ^

Agreed. I don't know a whole lot about him personally, but watching him during the Pitt game gave me the impression that he is kind of a dick. Reaming out your kicker because he didn't know that he would miss a kick is pretty weak. Wouldn't you want a kicker that always thinks he can make it? Shouldn't it be up to the coaches to know the capabilities of their players, and to weigh the probabilities themselves? Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of successful coaches that are also total dicks, but it does undercut the image that ND likes to promote that they are operating on a higher plane than everybody else. I also wonder if the kind of player that he has had success coaching at places like Cincinnati would have any chance of being admitted to ND, even under their athletic admission standards.

Ernis

December 5th, 2009 at 8:08 PM ^

this is pure speculation but I think the disrespectful way he handled his departure from CMU might have had something to do with it. Given the M connection via DeBord (and probably some others), it's a possibility. But hey, who knows?

Glen Masons Hot Wife

December 5th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^

Don't agree with ruling out Brian Kelly because of that comment. Think he's a great hire. What gets me excited is that Notre Dame has a contingent of anti-Brian Kelly within, because the man is pro choice. Please oh please let Notre Dame be stupid enough to pass on Brian Kelly for that reason. That would make my week.