With game week upon us, Brian Kelly made a stop by the Dan Patrick Show, answering some interesting questions and shedding some new light on a few subjects. As usual, DP asked some great questions -- “Who will you miss more, Manti Te’o or Everett Golson” for one -- and it’s worth the ten minute listen.
Things got particularly interesting when Patrick cited a report where an NFL source called this season a “thirteen-game NFL job interview.” Kelly laughed it off, saying that’s the world a successful college coach lives in.
“I think I’ll get a lot of that,” Kelly said. “It comes with the territory of being a winning football coach. Whether it’s at Oklahoma or Ohio State.”
When pressed on the allure of the NFL, Kelly was candid about his “intrigue” in the Eagles job, while also saying he wasn’t even sure if the job was going to be offered to him. He also made a statement that should make a lot of Irish fans happy.
“I don’t think that I would feel like I’ve missed something or be unsatisfied in any way,” Kelly said. “If I got a chance to end my career at Notre Dame, I would not feel like I’d have missed something.”
(In reality, if Kelly retires as Notre Dame’s coach, it’ll likely be after a statue is erected outside the stadium and the Irish have finally won another national title. Because if history is any reminder, not too many people retire from this job. They’re fired.)
Last interesting tidbit, Kelly mentioned the upcoming playoff. While athletic director Jack Swarbrick has sounded confident that a four team playoff is all that’s in the works, the Irish head coach thought that it was just a matter of time before the playoff expands to eight teams.
“I don’t have any first hand information, but if you’re asking me for my opinion, eight is right around the corner,” Kelly said.
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