The news of Brian Kelly’s departure for the head coaching position at LSU glued sports media people to their desks Monday evening and into Tuesday morning.
Below is a collection of articles debating what is next for Notre Dame at head coach, and how this move impacts recruiting and the college landscape in general.
Greg Ladky, Mike Singer, and Tim Hyde, BlueandGold.com — Instant reaction to Brian Kelly’s decision to take the LSU job, including thoughts on who may be next, and the impact on recruiting
Tyler Horka, BlueandGold.com — Why Marcus Freeman makes sense to replace Brian Kelly at Notre Dame
First of all, recruiting. There’s a strong case to be made that part of Cincinnati’s current success is a result of the recruiting rampage Freeman was able to orchestrate while with the Bearcats for three seasons. Freeman has helped Kelly with an even better haul in just one year at Notre Dame.
The Irish are currently ranked No. 4 according to Rivals in the class of 2022 team rankings. The early signing period is coming up in two weeks. Want to keep the class intact? Promote the guy who played a huge role in getting the Irish’s 23 commits as of Tuesday morning to pledge to the blue and gold program.
Eric Hansen, ND Insider/South Bend Tribine — Brian Kelly breaks a long-held promise to himself in chasing new dream at LSU
Kelly so believed that he could eventually win a title in South Bend, if Notre Dame was willing to change, that he wasn’t afraid to piss people off. Important people. Wealthy and influential people, who had the egos and checkbooks to push back and Kelly didn’t yet have the equity of the current 54-9 run of the past five seasons.
New LSU head coach Brian Kelly spent 12 seasons at Notre Dame. (Chad Weaver)
ESPN — Brian Kelly to LSU: What’s next for Tigers and Fighting Irish?
Adam Rittenberg: He needs to show he can be a pedal-down lead recruiter every day of the year. As a former Notre Dame assistant told me, Kelly is an excellent delegator, but recruiting doesn't drive him the way it does some of the coaches he will compete with in the SEC. His adjustment to the way head coaches must recruit to succeed in this region and in this league will be significant. Kelly knows X’s and O’s and player development. Like Mark noted, he has recruited enough players from the region to Notre Dame. But whether he can program himself to dig into recruiting like the top coaches he will face remains a major question mark.
Tom VanHaaren: I think Notre Dame should hire Marcus Freeman as the head coach. He has done an excellent job recruiting in a short amount of time at Notre Dame. He is a young coach who relates to the players and has well-established relationships at the high school level in the Midwest. It would make for an easy adjustment, and given the pool of available coaches, I don't know who else would make a splash. Freeman hasn't been a head coach before, but he has a lot of what it takes to be a head coach and I think he could build off of what the staff has done this season.
Heather Dinich: Fickell, Fickell, Fickell. It makes perfect sense — Luke Fickell could win there on a big stage, and he would take over a program that is already a playoff contender and in excellent shape.
RJ Young, FOXSports.com — BRIAN KELLY TO LSU: WHAT’S NEXT FOR NOTRE DAME AND OKLAHOMA?
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR NOTRE DAME (AND OKLAHOMA)?
Kelly’s departure from the biggest brand in the sport is also an example of the harbinger I wrote about when Riley accepted the USC job after putting together a 55-10 record, winning multiple conference titles, putting multiple Heisman winners on the podium and making three appearances in the CFP.
It can happen to your school, and it’s likely to happen to your school. As much as we’d love to believe coaches lose sleep over their decisions to leave blue-blood programs, Riley told USC media on Monday that he made the decision to exit Oklahoma off the strength of a Zoom call and a nap.
His move so blindsided OU’s brain trust that they held a media conference Monday to assure fans that they’d find the right person to replace Riley. I expect a similar discussion will be held at ND posthaste.
Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com — Notre Dame coaching search: Matt Campbell, Marcus Freeman, Luke Fickell top candidates to replace Brian Kelly
Look for Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to become the interim coach in these turbulent times. Think of it as an audition because the clear No. 1 candidate now has to be Iowa State's Matt Campbell.
Unlike Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, Campbell does not face the complication of the upcoming College Football Playoff. Campbell's season is over, except for a minor bowl game. Campbell has desired the Notre Dame job for a while, according to sources. This is also an ideal time to leave Iowa State considering how hard it is to maintain success there.
Dan Wolken, USA Today — Opinion: Brian Kelly’s move from Notre Dame to LSU shows college football has a real problem on its hands
How does anyone continue to pretend that this is amateur sports when a multi-million dollar coach leaves his players in the lurch while they could still end up playing for history? How does anyone take the sanctity of the College Football Playoff seriously when it means so little to Kelly that he high-tails it out of town before he even knows whether his team gets in?
Dylan Sinn, The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, IN) — Reports: Kelly headed to LSU
Kelly has been the head coach in South Bend since prior to the 2010 season, leaving him one year short of equaling Knute Rockne for longest tenure in Irish history. He has already passed Rockne atop the all-time Notre Dame wins list, a feat he accomplished with his 106th career victory in a Sept. 25 game against Wisconsin. Two months later, Kelly's Notre Dame-record win total has climbed to 113.
At the time, Kelly emphasized he was happy at Notre Dame because of alignment philosophically with athletic director Jack Swarbrick, who originally hired Kelly away from Cincinnati.
The Athletic — Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame to coach LSU; offer is 10 years and at least $100 million: Sources
At Notre Dame, there will be some momentum among decision-makers at the university to elevate defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach, sources indicate. The Athletic's Pete Sampson reports that while first-time head coaches generally don’t work at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish are in a more stable place currently than during previous hires.
ND athletic director Jack Swarbrick has communicated to Irish assistant coaches that they should stay on the road, continue to visit with prospects and calm committed recruits' nerves, sources told The Athletic's Matt Fortuna. An interim head coach has not been named yet.
Kelly sent a message to Notre Dame in Team Works on Monday night apologizing for the way that the news of his leaving broke and that he wasn't able to tell the team himself. He will meet with the team Tuesday at 7 a.m. ET.
Jeremy Crabtreee, On3: Brian Kelly to LSU will reshape national recruiting landscape — again
Notre Dame has a true national recruiting footprint under Kelly unlike any other program in the country, outside of Alabama, Oregon and Oklahoma before Riley’s departure.
But Kelly never has coached south of the Mason-Dixon line. It’s a fair question to ask if he’ll have success at LSU.
“I’d be concerned if I’m an LSU fan,” said a former SEC recruiter who now works at an AAC school. “But I also know Coach Kelly is a smart guy. He wouldn’t make this type of move without a game plan in place.”
