With billows of smoke following Brian Kelly’s every move, it’s very likely he’ll be the man named the next football coach at Notre Dame. While his hiring brings to mind Kevin White’s ill-fated “central casting” comments from the introduction of George O’Leary, the fact that Kelly fits the profile of the man leading the Fighting Irish does nothing to ensure his success at Notre Dame.
If Brian Kelly is named the head coach at Notre Dame, the challenges he’ll need to deal with starting day one will be imperative to his success. When the shoe drops, here are Kelly’s three chief concerns:
BUILDING A COACHING STAFF
If Kelly becomes head coach at Notre Dame, he’ll demand final say on his coaching staff. People have speculated who stays and who goes from the current Notre Dame coaching staff, but there’s no way to know for sure. I suspect Jack Swarbrick will request that Kelly meet with all the current assistants that have remained on staff after Weis was let go on November 30th. By reputation, Kelly would be smart to do so. Coaches like Rob Ianello, Tony Alford, Brian Polian, and Corwin Brown are thought of as elite recruiters. Coaches Randy Hart and Frank Verducci are regarded as master tacticians. Whether those coaches fit with Kelly and his philosophies will be anyone’s guess. Coaches like Brown, with strong loyalties to Weis and plucked from the NFL, might head back to the professional ranks. Whatever the case, Kelly’s decision on a coaching staff, especially at the defensive coordinator position, will be at the forefront.
FINISHING OUT RECRUITING
While any hope to land a whale like Bob Stoops has passed for most Irish fans, what made an elite coach like that so intriguing is his ability to land an equally gigantic recruit. Stoops and Urban Meyer, another coach high atop many Irish wish-lists, have track records of landing blue-chip recruits on both sides of the ball. Brian Kelly doesn’t fit into that grouping.
If Kelly is going to succeed during his tenure in South Bend, his work in the living room will need to be as good as his work on the sidelines. Having the ability to find a diamond in the rough is essential for any coach. But closing the deal on a player that everybody knows about is another animal, and Kelly hasn’t had to do that yet. Notre Dame fans had to feel lucky that Charlie Weis, a man with zero recruiting experience, turned into an elite college recruiter. From all reports, Kelly is a charming man with the zest of a politician, but he’ll also lack the prop of three Super Bowl rings and an NFL ready offense. If Kelly can retain the recruits that Notre Dame has, and figure out a way to swing one or two of the blue-chippers on the board to South Bend, he’ll be well on his way.
PLOTTING OUT SPRING INSTALLATION
Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate leaving early won’t be Kelly’s largest challenge. It’ll be installing his offense without quarterback Dayne Crist available. The promising sophomore signal caller could be a great fit for Kelly’s offense, but we’ll likely only find out come next fall, when Crist will be taking the first full-speed reps since he tore his ACL. I expect the Irish to schedule spring practice as late as possible, giving Crist as much time to get healthy as possible.
Offensively, the Irish will need to get a group of fairly green offensive linemen familiar with a completely different scheme. Wide receivers like Duval Kamara and Shaq Evans will need to make the jump to the next level and step up in Tate’s absence, as they try to learn an offense that won’t have a scholarship quarterback in uniform this Spring.
Defensively, a group of promising youngsters will need to get their confidence back and learn how to play (at the very least) average defense. Kelly will also have to deal with the unique situation surrounding Manti Te’o, who has yet to comment on whether or not he’ll be taking his Mormon mission. If Te’o leaves for a mission, there’s no guarantee he’ll ever return to campus.
We’ll likely find out in the next day or two if Brian Kelly ends up being the man who’s picked to lead the Irish. If he is, his first weeks in charge of the program will be critical to his success.