It might not have been anything to think about until an unusual circumstance came down on the Notre Dame offense last week, but Irish head coach Brian Kelly is no stranger to the quarterbacks room in South Bend.
Kelly got into college coaching from the perspective of the other side of the ball. He started as a defensive coordinator at Assumption College from 1983-86. He was the defensive coordinator at Grand Valley State from 1989-90 before becoming the head coach there in 1991. He’s been a head coach ever since, but he’s never had his hands all over any of the offenses he's overseen.
But that doesn’t mean he has been totally absent from offensive proceedings.
When Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees missed time from meetings and practices to undergo an appendectomy a week ago, it became clear just how much Kelly has his fingerprints on what goes on in the Irish’s quarterbacks room.
"Tommy has been watching film remotely, communicating, and I sit in the quarterback meeting room anyway," Kelly said on Wednesday.
Kelly said running backs coach Lance Taylor called plays during Rees' absence. Tight ends coach John McNulty took on an expanded role in overseeing the entire offense during practices too. Kelly's role, meanwhile, didn't change much. But that's because it didn't have to.
Kelly has always been involved with the offense whether folks realized it or not.
“I don’t micro-manage it, I just like to be in there to know exactly what we’re doing on a day-to-day basis," Kelly said. "As the head coach, it's always good to where the ball is."
Kelly joked that the quarterbacks would lie and say they enjoy Kelly sitting in on their meetings. Who knows if they do or don't. One thing is for certain, though — they can't do anything about it either way. It's a sign of an engaged head coach to want to know the ins and outs of what takes place in the meeting room of the most important position on the team.
If anything, Rees' emergency surgery showed how prepared Notre Dame is offensively in the event of the man in charge of operations on that side of the ball not being able to coach as he normally does.
"We've got a great staff on the offensive side of the ball that makes it a lot easier when your offensive coordinator is not available for a day or two," Kelly said. "We're just happy he's going to be OK and it didn't happen two days before the game."
Notre Dame begins its 2021 season Sept. 5 at Florida State.
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