Kelly to Stay at ND

Submitted by orobs on

NDHardin (director of media relations):

 

"@NDFootball @CoachBrianKelly will remain head coach at Notre Dame, he announced today. Statement to und.com soon."

 

 

snarling wolverine

January 12th, 2013 at 5:47 PM ^

I expected this to happen.  Still, his flirtation with the pros gives his opponents some recruiting ammunition: if he's this close to jumping ship right after an appearance in the national title game, what's going to stop him after a year that might not go so perfectly, where the fanbase isn't as strongly behind him?

snarling wolverine

January 12th, 2013 at 6:32 PM ^

Financially, yes, but it can damage the coach's relationship with his AD and fanbase.  If Kelly still wins big, this will be forgotten, but if he starts to falter, fans will not forget this.  When a coach is struggling, fans seize on anything to make their case against him.  

Minnesota fans worshipped Glen Mason until he openly flirted with the Ohio job.  He got a new contract at Minnesota, but he became tainted goods in Gopher fans' eyes after that.  They never really forgave him and ultimately ran him out of town despite being easily Minnesota's best coach in the last 30 years.  

Tater

January 12th, 2013 at 8:08 PM ^

So, Chip Kelly stays are Oregon and Brian Kelly stays at ND.  I have a feeling that both were told they weren't going to be allowed to "experiment with the college offense in the NFL."  When it comes to change, especially on the offensive side of the ball, they are definitely the "Non-Fluid League."

ghost

January 12th, 2013 at 5:59 PM ^

You cannot unring the bell.  Every team competing against ND can point to Kelly's wondering eye.  If the Cowboys or Jets come calling in a years time this will all start again.  Kelly's statement that he is staying because of his love for ND is a lie.  He's staying for the money and when a better offer comes up he'll be gone.

Wendyk5

January 12th, 2013 at 6:10 PM ^

For him, it's just a job. And for a school like Notre Dame, that's hard to swallow. When Hoke said, "We would have walked here," it was authentic and that's exactly what we wanted and needed to hear. Now, the Domers deep down can't trust Kelly because they know this is just a job. 

Brimley

January 12th, 2013 at 6:54 PM ^

And we should appreciate Brady Hoke's exceptionalism.  How many of us would leverage opportunity like this in our own careers?  Bo did (Texas A&M).  I love my work and organization, but I think I would.  This may seem really cheesey, but Hoke's combination of competence and loyalty is inspiring to me.

snarling wolverine

January 12th, 2013 at 6:58 PM ^

I don't think it's fair to say that Bo used the TAMU offer as leverage.  They offered him a gigantic pay raise and I think he genuinely considered it for awhile.  There is no reason to believe he was cynically doing it to shake Canham down.  In any case, it was the only time in his 21 years that he was linked to another job.

 

Brimley

January 13th, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^

Bo got a raise from UM.  I want to say 20% or so, all the way up to around $200,000 a year, I think.  So yeah, he was underpaid.

Tom Monaghan was so happy that Bo turned down A and M that he gave Bo the profits from a corporate-owned Dominos in Columbus (!).  That was entirely apart from the school; absolutely no collusion.  Ill-fated as well given what Tom did to him later with the Tigers.

M-Wolverine

January 12th, 2013 at 6:20 PM ^

Do tese NFL jobs hold the luster they used to? Sure, if you can take over the Pats or someone ready to win people will jump, but is anyone wow'd by the Browns, or Eagles, or Bills? Heck, even the Bears list of candidates is...underwhelming. And they're actually a good team.

Funny that none of them seem to even be mentioning Gruden, even though people are exhibiting the "Gruden effect", where every top name coach will be interested in "this" job.

PurpleStuff

January 12th, 2013 at 7:24 PM ^

I'd agree that no NFL job is really great with the way the league is set up (small rosters, hard salary cap, etc.).  I'd also argue that who the coach is doesn't make a whole lot of difference to team success.  If you swapped the coaches on the best teams with the coaches on the worst I doubt the standings would turn out much differently. 

At the same time though, people seem to realize this or at a minimum failing in a pro job does nothing to hurt your chances of getting another big time college job at the end of the day.  Petrino, Spurrier, and Saban all had lousy stints in the NFL, and they all got great jobs and had tremendous success in college afterwards.  Calipari did the same thing in basketball.  Pitino did it twice and was rewarded with the Kentucky and Louisville jobs. 

If I was Kelly and had not particular emotional attachment to ND, leaving makes a lot of sense right now.  If he goes 2-14 with the Eagles for a couple years, he's still a hot commodity in the college ranks and probably gets a very high end job for a lot of dough.  If he goes 8-5 the next two years at ND, how hot of a seat is he on?  And how quickly do these NFL offers disappear?

M-Wolverine

January 12th, 2013 at 9:04 PM ^

But because of the reasons you point out you don't have the say in whether you succeed or not. And these guys aren't just doing it for a payday; they want to win, big, at that level. Competitiveness, ego....it's not ALL money. Otherwise Saban would be bored today counting his money rather than working 18 hours to win title 5. It's. a risk either way. You gamble and never get another shot; or you gamble and maybe get to walk into the 49ers. Surprised none of these guys are on Chicago's radar, who have defense but need a keen offensive mind. They are enticing. But they seem infatuated with ever coordinator in the country.

Maybe he's hurting his next college job prospects. Ex-NFL guys get South Carolina and Arkansas. Ex-Notre Dame guys get Washington and Kansas.

And damn, my typing sucks tonight. Wish I was drinking to excuse it.

phork

January 12th, 2013 at 6:23 PM ^

My whole problem with this was it was announced that a raise and extension was in the works before the NCG.  Lots of people suggested this was the usual leverage ploy for profit.  I totally feel like this was more than that.  Because of that I have to look at him in a more critical light.

The rumour for the long hold out, however, was more money for assistants (Have to pay your assistants, you guys know that), possible admissions loosening and provisions for possible oversignings.

Of course none of this will come to light as ND is a private institution.  Expect the usual drivel of Pay Raise, Assist Pay Raises and "facility improvements".

LSAClassOf2000

January 12th, 2013 at 6:27 PM ^

Bruce Feldman's write-up - (LINK)

Not too much information aside from a quote from Kelly himself:

"Like every kid who has ever put on a pair of football cleats, I have had thoughts about being a part of the NFL. However after much reflection and conversation with those closest to me, I have decided to remain at Notre Dame. This decision was motivated purely by my love for Notre Dame and the entire Fighting Irish community."

It's interesting considering that there were reports a  few  days ago that there was supposed to be a second interview. He did reach out to a lot of people who have worked in the pros, so even though he isn't leaving now, he seems to be giving signals that it hasn't left his mind completely as an option later. The one thing I wondered about, and I couldn't find the article I remember (but here is a mention of it in a very pointed Chicago Tribune blog entry), is this - did Jack Swarbrick not guarantee Kelly another contract extension and a raise before for the peak of the NFL talk? I think he probably did genuinely consider this move. 

Blue since birth

January 12th, 2013 at 7:15 PM ^

Keep trying to sell that.

I don't recall beating several .500-ish teams by FGs (at home IIRC), our biggest rival losing their star QB before the game and just all around squeaking by throughout the season... Benefitting from questionable calls in OT?

I recall some luck in the ND game and getting screwed against Iowa. OSU was the only other game that was even close.

jmblue

January 12th, 2013 at 7:30 PM ^

I don't think anyone really doubts that our 2011 team massively overachieved.  Given the paper-thin depth of the roster, it had to.  2012 ND, which had a roster stocked with years of outstanding recruiting classes, is not a great comparison.  A team with that much talent shouldn't have found itself in so many dogfights against weaker opponents.

 

CRex

January 12th, 2013 at 6:33 PM ^

This won't last.  The ND fans are already furious over the fact Kelly would ever consider a lateral move to the NFL (at least that his how the dopes at NDNation see it).  When Kelly failed to act as if Notre Dame was a destination job, it pissed off a major segement of the fan base.  So when he goes 8-5 again or whatever, South Bend Torch and Pitchfork will have its shelves swept clean and the fanbase will come for him.

Also I think he's only back because the Eagles didn't give him what he wanted or else refused to hire him.  I think Kelly seriousily was ready to leave, but couldn't get the job offer.

BlueTuesday

January 12th, 2013 at 6:38 PM ^

It's a huge black eye for notre dame. There's no doubt he had genuine interest in the nfl. I live a half hour from south bend and the Irish faithful have been shitting their pants all week.

Don

January 12th, 2013 at 6:52 PM ^

They'll forgive him in that scenario. If he doesn't, and loses to USC more often than not, then it won't matter whether he had a brief flirtation with the pros.