The University of Notre Dame took the predictable, sensible route in its decision to hire Cincinnati’s Brian Kelly as the school’s next football coach.

The predictable, sensible route also happens to be the right one.
Notre Dame hired the best college coach with the best resume on the market. Is Florida’s Urban Meyer better? Maybe, but he’s not on the market. The same goes for Alabama’s Nick Saban and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops.
Is Kelly one of the best coaches in the college game, on par with Meyer, Saban and Stoops? You don’t have to be a Fighting Irish diehard to think he might be. Everywhere Kelly coaches, he produces seasons that require school bookstores to stock commemorative T-shirts.
He took Grand Valley State to a pair of Division II national titles. He led Central Michigan to the Mid-American Conference championship. He guided Cincinnati to two Big East titles, a 12-0 record this season and a Sugar Bowl berth.
Give Kelly time and he’ll win.
I repeat: Give him time.
Notre Dame can’t be built to win championships as easily as Central Michigan and Cincinnati. That’s not to say either of those programs was easy to build. Every great sports program requires time, blood, sweat, tears and more time. A little luck doesn’t hurt. But, the spotlight of pressure wasn’t hounding Kelly at Central Michigan or Cincinnati, even after he upped the ante on expectations for an already decent program in Cincinnati.
For the sake of Kelly’s potential, not to mention his sanity, Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick needs to lay out the expectations in a clear, reasonable manner. He needs to emphasize patience. Kelly inherits a team without an experienced quarterback and not much of a defense, either. He can’t work overnight magic.
However, Kelly, 47, is the best Notre Dame hire since Lou Holtz because of his pattern of college success.
Bob Davie had zero head-coaching experience. Tyrone Willingham had a couple good years at Stanford, but he was a second choice after the George O’Leary fiasco. And a couple good years hardly constitute a foundation of success. Charlie Weis was an NFL offensive coordinator. That’s a fine career, especially when you’ve got Tom Brady, but it doesn’t prepare you to lead the Notre Dame program.
Kelly made the move to Notre Dame in the traditional, time-tested manner. He proved himself again and again.
There are some hurt feelings today in Cincinnati. Cincinnati receiver Mardy Gilyard was flat-out mad. He said he was “disgusted” and there was “a little lying” in the process because Kelly told him before last Saturday’s Pittsburgh game that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Kelly walked a tightrope the last few days. He seemed publicly upfront about the whole deal from a distance, saying he didn’t want to talk about Notre Dame before or immediately after Cincinnati’s great comeback win over Pittsburgh. He later said he was interested in hearing what Notre Dame had to say. When coaches leave for greener pastures, those left behind almost always feel jilted. It’s inevitable, but it’s not some sort of red flag about Kelly’s integrity.
Kelly’s other key attribute is hunger. Here’s a coach eager to make his name. If you say he’s already made a name at Cincinnati, you’re right. But he’s got a healthy ego, and nothing would be cement a football coach’s legacy than winning at Notre Dame.
The Irish haven’t won anything of any real importance since Holtz left. You’ve seen Holtz rambling on TV, right? It’s been a few years since the glory days.
If Kelly can return the Irish to a level of contention — consistent nine- or 10-win seasons and an occasional runs at a national title — he’ll be beloved. The days of Notre Dame being a dynasty have passed. But to say he can’t build a solid program rings false.
Maybe he’ll invoke the Gipper and the Four Horseman and genuflect to Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian and Holtz. The older fan base loves that, certainly. It’s nice that Kelly is Irish with a Catholic background, but it doesn’t win games. I hope Kelly leaves most of the history lessons to Swarbrick, who conducted an efficient coaching search but does love his Irish tradition hyperbole.
Kelly should emphasize his strengths. He teaches a potent no-huddle offensive style and has used a variety of quarterbacks to run it. He brings energy, purpose and a strategic mind to the sidelines. He knows how to recruit. He has experience assembling a solid staff. Presumably, he can hire a good defensive coordinator.
It’d be foolish to predict Kelly will lead the Irish to a national title in the next three or four years. He has too much work ahead of him and the odds continue to be stacked against Notre Dame. But it’s fair to anticipate how a coach will fare by looking over the pattern of his work.
Kelly builds college winners.
Notre Dame decided, finally, that might be a good approach to try.