January 29th, 2016 at 3:13 PM ^
I'm with you, Muttley. I would have liked to see ten more years, too, but at least we get six more years where ND cannot pretend to be "holier than thou."
January 29th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 2:23 PM ^
Damn you beat me to it! Always love this picture.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:28 PM ^
Yeah, with the (I'm sure) huge amount of cash he'll be getting in the new contract, he can certainly pay for the de-blueberrification of his head before that thing pops like a zit on the chin of a 14 year old...
January 29th, 2016 at 3:52 PM ^
Here's another good one, after Roundtree's catch UTL.
January 29th, 2016 at 6:59 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
Reminds me of someone sitting on the toilet experiencing hot peppers for the second time.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^
To hell with Notre Dame.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:22 PM ^
I personally like the response at NDnation (Rock's House Forum)
Some headers...
- So 8-4 is good enough. Who knew. * - 1978Irish 2016-01-29 13:42:59
- Meh - El Kabong 2016-01-29 13:39:08
- could be a meaningless PR move for recruiting purposes - MrE 2016-01-29 12:58:38
- Makes Sense - Weis off the Books - LocoLobo 2016-01-29 12:41:28
January 29th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^
I doubt this is the case, but if the contract doesn't increase the buyout, it certainly could be a PR move to help recruiting. You don't automatically get what you would have been paid over the life of a contract if you get fired. Parties can and do negotiate termination clauses with lower amounts.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
One ND poster: "I think Kelly is a lowest rung in heaven coach."
Another: "Your heaven is apparently a truck stop in Biloxi."
January 29th, 2016 at 8:13 PM ^
Makes sense - Weis off the books.
Love it.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:22 PM ^
Hopefully we can renew the rivalry and make this look a regularity
January 29th, 2016 at 2:25 PM ^
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January 29th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 2:27 PM ^
replacing Charlie Weis, who got his last check at the end of 2015.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^
I have not been impressed with his time at ND at all. 3-5 loss seasons, 1-4 loss season, 1-3 loss season, and the 1 loss season where they were finally exposed as a fraud in the bowl game. The guy gets a ton of hype for not producing much on the field.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:32 PM ^
I was just looking over his record the other day and was shocked by how pedestrian it was:
3 x 8-5
1 x 9-4
1 x 10-3
1 x 12-1
That's certainly not bad, but it's far from elite, especially when you consider that the 12-1 year was incredibly lucky with many close calls, and the recent 10-3 year ended with a pretty good thumping by Ohio State.
I think Notre Dame will be strong, but not elite, under Kelly. That's certainly an upgrade from previous coaches, but I will be shocked if he takes them to the promised land ever under his tenure.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
personally think ND is in trouble. I don't think the brand is strong enough anymore for them to be handed things just because it is ND. I think their failure to join a conference is going to hurt them as well as the lack of the a conference championship game. Even in 1 loss seasons, I think they will be surpassed in playoff polls by the actual ACC champ with the exception of years where they can play and beat really good Stanford teams.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:51 PM ^
And they're going to regret taking us off their schedule now that we're returning to national prominence. Beating a top 5-10 Michigan team (or even losing a close game) would have helped their SOS argument quite a bit. I'm sure they scheduled "good" teams in our place, but we're back to being a perennial top 10 team. Not many other schools in that same club.
I'd love to get them back on the schedule, even if it's not every year. Maybe two years on, two years off. And get them as a home game during the years we travel to OSU and MSU; that would make the season ticket holders happy.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:53 PM ^
I was the only one. I really liked that rivalry and the time of year it was played. There was always something special in the air for a Michigan v. Notre Dame game and I do think I will miss it.
January 29th, 2016 at 4:51 PM ^
I thought it was our second most important rivalry (although I understand those who look to MSU for that). Two of the greatest football traditions out there, and the game was always early in the season, so it put one of us behind the 8 Ball for the balance of the year if we lost.
To Hell with Notre Dame. (But come back any time.)
January 29th, 2016 at 3:55 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 8:17 PM ^
God bless ND. No matter how bad we were, they were always there to make us look like National Championship and Heisman comtenders in September.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:57 PM ^
While I have also enjoyed having them on our schedule and we have had many memorable games, do we really want to keep playing them for the following reasons:
- they have repeatedly snubbed their noses at joining the B1G as they view themselves as a National Power
- therefore, do I want to help their SOS by playing them when it suits them
- since we are recruiting even more nationally, would it not be better to have great home and away games with other good Power 5 teams in recruiting hotbeds - for exmple OK/Texas, FSU, UCLA, Ole Miss
So basically, To Hell with Notre Dame!
January 29th, 2016 at 5:32 PM ^
Both sides have their historical grievances - we worked to keep them out of the Big Ten at one time. At the end of the day Michigan-Notre Dame has been a great series and for that reason alone, it should continue.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^
At the same time, look at him compared to his immediate predecessors.
Charlie Weis: 9-3, 10-3, 3-9, 7-6, 6-6.
Tyrone Willingham: 10-3, 5-7, 6-5.
Bob Davie: 7-6, 9-3, 5-7, 9-3, 5-6.
So, Kelly's worst season was better than 8 of the previous 13 seasons. I don't know if Kelly is "elite" but he's proven to be a lot better than anyone else they've had since Holtz. I also feel they have been a little better than their record the last couple years. Been a bit snake-bitten with injuries and suspensions to key players.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:32 PM ^
I find him overrated. They got so much credit for a close loss at Clemson and then got smacked around by Urban Meyer and they didn't really have any big wins. He's not bad or anything. I just don't get the hoopla for a guy who finished 12th in the country at Notre Dame and the last year they lost to Northwestern at home.
January 29th, 2016 at 4:01 PM ^
I think they waaaaay overachieved this past season. I was NOT expecting them to play Stanford and Clemson as close as they did. Especially after losing their QB in game 2 (and winning the Virginia game on a hail mary.) There was no second half season collapse, which they usually have.
GOD, I just gave credit to Notre Dame. I feel like punching myself.
January 29th, 2016 at 4:24 PM ^
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January 29th, 2016 at 8:20 PM ^
Yeah, the more time goes by, the more stunning it is what OSU did to themselves.
HA.
HA HA
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
January 29th, 2016 at 2:31 PM ^
He of the exploding purple head. GIF, please!!
January 29th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
So whats the over/under line on the amount of people his program kills in that time span?
January 29th, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
any other coach that came from GVSU, and GVSU in general.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:49 PM ^
That's the exact reason I like him. He did great things when he was at GVSU.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:00 PM ^
love on the board. I just don't like it when the love is towards the Lakers :p
January 29th, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
I like your style. I was an athlete at Grand Valley and have no animosity towards Hillsdale, but I feel the same way about Davenport "university"
January 29th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
tongue in cheek. You guys win too damn much.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:00 PM ^
I'm suprised the extension came this easy unless there were some offers or inquiries that we didn't hear/get leaked, etc.
He spent a lot of time telling anyone that would listen that he wasn't interested in the NFL - which usually means that he might be interested if someone would just ask. It's in the old Saban career maintenance manual.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:00 PM ^
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January 29th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
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January 29th, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
Think he is a good not great coach but who are they going to get better other than Tom Herman and Herman has had 1 year as a HC so not yet proven. Just not many people out there once you get past the 3 coaches in the Big 10 East, Saban, Patterson, Fisher, Stoops, etc. And those are all lateral moves aside from MSU where they will be building a statue and dude lives to play UM. Personally I think Whittingham is better but a Mormon at a Catholic school doesn't work - once you get past Whittingham level you get the Brian Kelly, Mark Richt, & Jim Mora Jr types. Maybe David Shaw I guess could have been a reach but why the hell leave Stanford at this point - its a sweet gig.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:21 PM ^
Kelly is a good coach and has them trending in the right direction. They got killed with injuries this year, but were a FG or 2 point conversion away from beating two top 4 teams in Stanford and Clemson.
They lose some talent next year in guys like Fuller, Stanley, Jaylon Smith, and Russell but bring back several guys from injury including Malik Zaire.
They get MSU, Stanford, The U, and Va Tech all at home next year. They just have to go to USC. I see them as a playoff challenger on paper.
That early season ND-MSU game will be a big test to see which way those teams are trending in '16.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:29 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 5:27 PM ^
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January 30th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^
the category of good. He has built that roster to the point only a few close defeats prevented him from getting into the playoffs.
When you look back at this season, the losses, all to teams recognized among the best in cfb this year and he did so with backup qbs, backup rbs, etch. Much like Jim he recognizes talent and even though he will some 5*s, he relies more on his judgement than guru rankings in assembling his roster. He'll normallly have five to six players he can turn to when injuries hit and they seem to jump in without a noticeable drop off in perfomance.
I was worried, given his temper that he was going to be captured on film in a position he would be unable to negotiate his way out of. IIRC, he came close to a physical confrontation with as assistant, that if not for his desire to move up in the coaching ranks, said assitant should have and would have been justified in whipping Kelly's ass. Although the asst would have lost his job, so too would have Kelly and he has to reign this behaviior in. I see him, realistically making the cfb playoffs in the near future. His skill players are young and they will mature together and when that occurs, ND will be a tough out.
I am afraid though that he will eventually pull a Woody anhd remove himelf from the Coaching frathenity. Although there seems to be a lot of talk surrounding him and what appears an inevitable move to Sundays, I think, like Woody, who stated professional players would not tolerate his bullying and beat his ass, I think Kelly should accept this as a likely outcome and realize he has one of the top 5-8 programs in the nation and continue taking the steps that will proved the Irish with another NC trophy.