Notre Dame Football: Sunday Morning QB – Kelly Not a Changed Man

Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly told everyone he changed but the Press Conference following the Georgia game shows otherwise.

Notre Dame dropped another game in a big spot. Since taking the helm in 2010, Kelly failed to win the primetime hyped contest. The exceptions occurred in 2012 when the Irish defeated Stanford and Oklahoma. Notre Dame defeated Michigan State, Stanford and LSU as well. However, the pre-game hype simply was not the same. More often, the Irish fell in big spots to Alabama, Florida State (debatable), Clemson and Ohio State.

Again, last night, Kelly lambasted a reporter asking a question. Laken Litman, the Notre Dame beat writer for the Indy Star (video in Tweet), began to ask Kelly about the culture change and how things differed from last year. The embattled Notre Dame football coach told the reporter to “get to the question.” As the writer continued to ask the question Kelly berated her throughout. The two then argued about where one possession equals one point.

This clip immediately hit social media. The exchange drew the criticism of a few credentialed media members.

Kelly clearly frustrated by the question, shows that his growth as the face of the Notre Dame football program remains unfinished. Too many times, Kelly represents the program in a negative manner. Although these things do not directly affect winning and losing, the whole mood around the team changes.

Criticism Too Harsh?

With all of that being said, Kelly draws way too much criticism when compared to other coaches in college football. For example, Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart nearly blew a gasket on the sideline during his team’s 20-19 victory over Notre Dame. Nick Saban berates reporters with his surly antics. Perhaps, the criticism of Kelly’s sideline demeanor is more a criticism of his program, which failed to produce a winner like Saban.

And for the record, one point and one possession still equal the same thing.