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Notre Dame Football: Athlon Ranks Brian Kelly in Top 25

By Connor McJunkin

SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 12: Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly leads his team onto the field before the start of their game against Army in a NCAA college football game at the Alamodome on November 12, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 12: Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly leads his team onto the field before the start of their game against Army in a NCAA college football game at the Alamodome on November 12, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) /
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Athlon Sports recently came out with their ranking of all 130 college football head coaches. Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly managed to find a spot at No. 24 on the list, which is right where he should be.

Athlon Sports released their ranking of every college football coach in the nation recently. Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly managed to slide into the Top-25, which fits him and his career fittingly.

It is no secret that Notre Dame lost that brand image established by decades of winning titles with all-time great head coaches. Since Lou Holtz left in 1996 through the Weis era of 2009, Notre Dame has struggled. We’ve seen the the George O’Leary disaster, the dark days of 2007-2009 and watched as the program lost the prestige that made Notre Dame…Notre Dame.

Brian Kelly was going to be the man to get Notre Dame out of post-Holtz dark times, and to some extent he has. Kelly has become a hot topic among Irish fans, with some wanting him gone yesterday, and others believing he’s helped put the Irish back in the national spotlight. I think you can make a strong argument for both sides.

Overview

Kelly is 69-34 since he’s been leading the Irish, including three 10-win seasons and a 4-3 bowl record.  That’s not terrible, but it isn’t great. His biggest accomplishment in South Bend was obviously the dream season of 2012 that was swiftly and violently crushed at the hands of Alabama in the National Championship game.

Outside of the disaster that was 2016, Kelly has won eight or more games in every season, which for most schools is great. Unfortunately, Notre Dame is not most schools.

Primetime

One of Kelly’s biggest issues has been his inability to win that “big game.” Time after time, the Irish find themselves playing in primetime and failing to pull through. Kelly is 13-10 in primetime games with the Irish and 3-7 in those games vs. a ranked opponent.

Whether the games were close or not, the bottom line is the Irish under-perform on the big stage. Winning the easy games and losing the big games is mediocre, and that isn’t (or wasn’t) Notre Dame football.

Recruiting

Lastly, let’s talk recruiting. Kelly is certainly able to develop college talent into NFL talent, but again, he’s been just ‘okay’ at recruiting since he has been at Notre Dame. His best recruiting class ranked No. 3 in 2013 — the year after the National Championship appearance.

Other than that, his recruiting classes have never finished in the Top-10, according to Rivals. Fortunately, this year’s class is shaping up to be one of his best, as the Irish are currently #8 in recruiting.

There certainly is a lot of negative you can pick out from Kelly’s time with the Irish, but he is also being held to a higher standard. Notre Dame isn’t like most schools. Kelly has made Notre Dame more relevant again, but there’s no more room for eight-win seasons and lower-tier bowl games.

Next: Who Would You Trade Brian Kelly For?

Looking at Kelly’s resume, he is certainly one of the Top-25 coaches in college football. Whatever side of the Brian Kelly debate you’re on, I think this ranking is something we can agree on.

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