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Notre Dame Football: Has Brian Kelly Done Enough to Get Out of the Hot Seat?

By Noah Strackbein

Oct 1, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly waits with his players before the game against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium. Notre Dame won 50-33. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly waits with his players before the game against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium. Notre Dame won 50-33. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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After a 4-8 record in 2016, Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly was one of the biggest names on the coaching hot seat.

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When the 2016 season ended, it seemed that Brian Kelly lost everyone who had anything to do with Notre Dame football. Fans, players, coaches, everyone lost faith in the man who four years ago led this team to a National Championship game.

Now, Kelly has made all the right moves and hired all the right coaches, and it seems that he’s winning back Notre Dame football. But has he done enough to secure his job even without winning a Championship this season?

The only man who backed Kelly when everyone else turned was Notre Dame athletic director, Jack Swarbrick. When Kelly should have lost his job he didn’t, which leaves room to believe it wasn’t going to take much for him to be removed from the coaching hot seat.

His coaching hires this season were some of the best in the country. Bringing in Chip Long, Mike Elko, and Matt Balis, the Irish improve tenfold. Without even playing a game, he turned a 4-8 team into a National Championship contender practically overnight. He’s fixed some of the biggest issues Notre Dame has had over the last three years and turned a program with a first-time starting quarterback, no guaranteed starting freshmen and one of the NCAA’s worst defenses in 2016 into a program ready to make noise.

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It may be safe to say that Kelly is off the hot seat months before the opening kick is set to play out. Maybe another 4-8 record could put him back on, but chances are the Irish aren’t losing many games this season. He might not win a National Championship this season, but may only need to finish with a top 25 team to be cleared from the hot seat.

One of the primary reasons Kelly’s job should and likely is saved, is his recruiting. This offseason, Kelly, and his coaching staff have gone above and beyond in the recruiting field. Adding eight 4-star hard commits to the 2018 class already, 12 overall, including five players ranked within the top 10 at their position and the third best quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class, Phil Jurkovec.

Over the next year to three years, Notre Dame has players coming in that are instant game changers. But a significant factor in a recruit’s decision to stay committed to a school is having the same coach when you get to campus.

You don’t want Kelly to leave and a bunch of recruits to follow suit. Kelly has relinquished control of the offense, so, there isn’t much left for him to do during games. The Irish continue to lose, it may not be considered all Kelly’s fault anymore, which gives Swarbrick reason to keep him until these recruits arrive.

It may be safe to say Kelly’s hot seat has cooled dramatically. We may have all jumped the gun on wanting him gone after last year. Thank you, Swarbrick, for proving us wrong, because without it, who knows where Notre Dame would be right now.

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If Notre Dame goes under .500 again, Kelly’s job may be in jeopardy. The way it looks, though, this team is ready to win, which may mean Kelly hot seat days are behind him.

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