The undersigned is on record as predicting that The next great coach in college tackle football will be Brian Kelly Note that that prediction was made right after Kelly completed his final season at Central Michigan. Man. I dunno what I was drinking that New Year's Day 2007 but it produced an epiphany. Sheesh, that was a good 'un.
Kelly is a good 'un, too, an extremely good one. But I did not predict extreme goodness, I predicted greatness. When that prediction was made almost twelve years ago Kelly had just been hired by Cincinnati where he coached three full seasons, going 10-3, 11-3 and 12-0. Which made me look like a savant for once instead of an idiot but even in his last year at Cincy, the 12-0 year when Cincy finished the regular season ranked fourth in the country, note that fourth best is not best. I am sure you noted that. Fourth best is extreme goodness but not greatness and Cincinnati went on to lay an egg in the Sugar Bowl against #5 Florida. Note: Just as he had left CMU after their regular season but before their bowl game for Cincinnati, Kelly left Cincinnati after their perfect regular season and before their bowl game for Notre Dame. The Kelly-less "Bearcats" got mauled by the"Gators" who just ate 'em alive, 51-24. Florida led 30-3 at the half.
Note the similarities among Kelly's 2009 Cincinnati team, his 2012 Notre Dame team, and his 2018 Notre Dame team. 2009 Cincy: 4th ranked before bowl, considered overrated, blown out in bowl, trailed 30-3 at half (sans Kelly), final rank, 8th; 2012 ND: #1 ranked before bowl, considered overrated, blown out in bowl, trailed 28-0 at half, final rank, 4th; 2018 ND: 3rd ranked (season incomplete)...Are they considered overrated?...No, I don't think so but I and most others do not think they are national champions in-waiting. When they make the college football playoff this year if they get blown out again then the symmetry will have been perfect.
There is another similarity among those three extremely good Brian Kelly coached teams, a factor in fact common to every Brian Kelly coached team, twenty-nine of them, the factor in the opinion of the undersigned savant--Or idiot!--that explains the near brushes with greatness: No great quarterback has ever played for Brian Kelly.
That is remarkable! Notre Dame used to be QB U! Four of Notre Dame's seven Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks. Not among Heisman winners are these All-American ND QB's: Jimmy Clausen, Brady Quinn, Rick Mirer, Tony Rice, Tom Clements, Joe Montana (not even an AA!), Joe Theismann, Terry Hanratty, Daryle Lamonica. The last pre-Kelly Notre Dame team, 2009, Jimmy Clausen was an All-American quarterback. No "Irish" QB under Brian Kelly has ever been named All-American much less won a Heisman. Further, Kelly has not been able to decide on a QB at Notre Dame! In his nine seasons in South Bend, including this season, Kelly has rotated two quarterbacks as starters in seven seasons. Here's the list:
2010 Tommy Rees-Everett Golson
2011 Tommy Rees-Dayne Crist
2012 (The Alabama blow out year) Tommy Rees-Everett Golson
2013 Tommy Rees
2014 Everett Golson-Malik Zaire
2015 DeShone Kizer-Malik Zaire
2016 (Notre Dame cratered to 4-8) DeShone Kizer
2017 Brandon Wimbush-Ian Book
2018 Brandon Wimbush-Ian Book
Remarkable! How can you go nine years at Notre Dame and never recruit or develop a great quarterback? C'mon. In Charlie Weis' five unhappy years there he had three All-Americans at QB. C'mon, man.
Kelly's quarterbacks in four years at Cincinnati, Dustin Grutza, Ben Mauk, Zach Collaros, Tony Pike, and Brendon Kay, were better than he has coached in nine years at Notre Dame I mean come on man.
So. Therefore. Brian Kelly, no doubt just to spite me and deny me savant status, has never achieved coaching greatness because he has spent nine frigging years at Notre Dame playing musical quarterbacks. The bitch.
Kelly is a good 'un, too, an extremely good one. But I did not predict extreme goodness, I predicted greatness. When that prediction was made almost twelve years ago Kelly had just been hired by Cincinnati where he coached three full seasons, going 10-3, 11-3 and 12-0. Which made me look like a savant for once instead of an idiot but even in his last year at Cincy, the 12-0 year when Cincy finished the regular season ranked fourth in the country, note that fourth best is not best. I am sure you noted that. Fourth best is extreme goodness but not greatness and Cincinnati went on to lay an egg in the Sugar Bowl against #5 Florida. Note: Just as he had left CMU after their regular season but before their bowl game for Cincinnati, Kelly left Cincinnati after their perfect regular season and before their bowl game for Notre Dame. The Kelly-less "Bearcats" got mauled by the"Gators" who just ate 'em alive, 51-24. Florida led 30-3 at the half.
Note the similarities among Kelly's 2009 Cincinnati team, his 2012 Notre Dame team, and his 2018 Notre Dame team. 2009 Cincy: 4th ranked before bowl, considered overrated, blown out in bowl, trailed 30-3 at half (sans Kelly), final rank, 8th; 2012 ND: #1 ranked before bowl, considered overrated, blown out in bowl, trailed 28-0 at half, final rank, 4th; 2018 ND: 3rd ranked (season incomplete)...Are they considered overrated?...No, I don't think so but I and most others do not think they are national champions in-waiting. When they make the college football playoff this year if they get blown out again then the symmetry will have been perfect.
There is another similarity among those three extremely good Brian Kelly coached teams, a factor in fact common to every Brian Kelly coached team, twenty-nine of them, the factor in the opinion of the undersigned savant--Or idiot!--that explains the near brushes with greatness: No great quarterback has ever played for Brian Kelly.
That is remarkable! Notre Dame used to be QB U! Four of Notre Dame's seven Heisman Trophy winners have been quarterbacks. Not among Heisman winners are these All-American ND QB's: Jimmy Clausen, Brady Quinn, Rick Mirer, Tony Rice, Tom Clements, Joe Montana (not even an AA!), Joe Theismann, Terry Hanratty, Daryle Lamonica. The last pre-Kelly Notre Dame team, 2009, Jimmy Clausen was an All-American quarterback. No "Irish" QB under Brian Kelly has ever been named All-American much less won a Heisman. Further, Kelly has not been able to decide on a QB at Notre Dame! In his nine seasons in South Bend, including this season, Kelly has rotated two quarterbacks as starters in seven seasons. Here's the list:
2010 Tommy Rees-Everett Golson
2011 Tommy Rees-Dayne Crist
2012 (The Alabama blow out year) Tommy Rees-Everett Golson
2013 Tommy Rees
2014 Everett Golson-Malik Zaire
2015 DeShone Kizer-Malik Zaire
2016 (Notre Dame cratered to 4-8) DeShone Kizer
2017 Brandon Wimbush-Ian Book
2018 Brandon Wimbush-Ian Book
Remarkable! How can you go nine years at Notre Dame and never recruit or develop a great quarterback? C'mon. In Charlie Weis' five unhappy years there he had three All-Americans at QB. C'mon, man.
Kelly's quarterbacks in four years at Cincinnati, Dustin Grutza, Ben Mauk, Zach Collaros, Tony Pike, and Brendon Kay, were better than he has coached in nine years at Notre Dame I mean come on man.
So. Therefore. Brian Kelly, no doubt just to spite me and deny me savant status, has never achieved coaching greatness because he has spent nine frigging years at Notre Dame playing musical quarterbacks. The bitch.
