Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick isn’t rushing to name an interim head coach in the wake of Brian Kelly’s departure for LSU.
He did not tab one during his Tuesday morning press conference and said he “may approach it a little differently.”
“This staff is so well structured and responsibilities are so well understood that I feel less of a need to have a designated interim,” Swarbrick said. “If we feel a need to put someone in that position, they would not be a candidate for the job.”
Swarbrick will begin the process of finding Kelly’s replacement Tuesday and will lead it, without help from a search firm. He said he had not yet reached out to any candidates as of Tuesday morning, but has had many interested coaches reach out to him.
Here are some of the topics he addressed in his 25-minute media session.
On his search now compared to 2009
“The circumstances could not be more different. Then, I was in the process of trying to find someone to fix a broken program in a circumstance where a lot of people didn’t think this was a place they wanted to be because they didn’t think Notre Dame was committed or able to produce championship football teams.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the difference I see as I embark on another search. In my 14 years, this program has never been in better shape. We have never been in a better position to take the next step in building this program into a consistent contender for national championships. I’m excited for the opportunity to attract the next leader to do that.”
On player involvement in the search
“Not with regard to specific candidates, but absolutely in regards to characteristics and criteria. Every search I’ve conducted in every sport, I’ve had a group of student-athletes help advise me. I’ll look to the captains of this football team to play that role."
On a timetable for concluding the search
“First and foremost is getting the right leader. I recognize the external factors — the recruiting calendar, transfer portals – but none of that is a reason not to make sure we run a process that gets the very best person to lead this program going forward.
“Every search process has its own rhythm. You want to do the best job you can, not the fastest job you can.”
On his discussions with Notre Dame assistant coaches
“The first decision I made last night was to keep them on the road [recruiting]. Notre Dame is in a great place. I don’t want anybody to think we’re not moving forward full steam. Our coaches have remained out on the road. Because of that, I can’t convene them as a group. We’ve communicated via email and I’ve had calls with several of them.”
On how Notre Dame will navigate a postseason appearance
“We will have our current coaching staff — I hope — largely intact and designate the person who has to make jump-ball calls like how to use timeouts and the coin flip. We have a great staff and great coordinators. I have every confidence we will be fully prepared for what I hope is a CFP game, but if not, I’m certain will be a great New Year’s Six game. Brian will not be part of that for us.”
On taking the next step as a program
“The first thing is to know how pleased I am about what we’ve accomplished with facilities in recent years. I think we have the best indoor football facility in the country. Most of the NFL scouts who come in make that same observation. That was a major investment we made. We’ve made investments in our other practice fields, made investments in the building itself, we redid all the offices last year.”
“It’s a matter of continuing those. We’ll always be updating the weight room. We’ll always be updating the locker room. At some point in the not-too-distant future, we have to figure out how to most effectively expand or change the footprint for the football operations building.”
On Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff case
“When I look at the team that played the last half of the season, I don’t see a gap. I think this team is really well positioned. I believe we’re one of the top four teams of the country. The cumulative results of our last four or five games are compelling. I think we can play with anyone in the country right now.
"Can we get better? Always. Every team can. A lot of the things we chased for a while, we put ourselves in a much different position. Youth, depth, development have all put us in a really strong place.”
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