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Notre Dame Football Assistants Have Bright Futures

By Nathan Erbach

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Head coach Brian Kelly of Notre Dame Fighting Irish talks to an assistant coach in the third quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame won 49-14. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Head coach Brian Kelly of Notre Dame Fighting Irish talks to an assistant coach in the third quarter of a game against the USC Trojans at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame won 49-14. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 24: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly looks on during the game against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 24: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly looks on during the game against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

The Brian Kelly coaching tree is a decent one, but he might have his most talented group yet in the 2018 Notre Dame football staff.

Chuck Martin, Bob Diaco, Jeff Quinn and Butch Jones have been assistants under Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly. All have went on to be head coaches at varying levels of success.

Martin took over for Brian Kelly at Grand Valley State and won two Division II National Championships before reconnecting with Kelly at Notre Dame. Martin remained at Notre Dame through the 2013 season before accepting the head coaching vacancy at Miami (Ohio). He will look to have his first winning season at Miami (Ohio) in 2018.

Diaco joined Kelly during his final season at Cincinnati and then followed him to Notre Dame. After four successful seasons as defensive coordinator, Diaco took the head coaching job at the University of Connecticut. However, his time as head coach was short-lived due to an 11-26 record. After spending a season as Nebraska’s defensive coordinator, he joined the Oklahoma staff as a defensive analyst for 2018.

Butch Jones is a bit of stretch on the Kelly coaching tree, as he was only with him for one season at Central Michigan. However, when Kelly accepted the job at Cincinnati, Jones took over at Central Michigan. This would in-turn catapult Jones to succeeding Kelly at Cincinnati after Kelly took the Notre Dame job. After three seasons at Cincinnati, Jones became the Tennessee head coach in 2013.  Ultimately, he never became the head coach many expected him to be, and he was fired during the 2017 season. Jones now works for Nick Saban at Alabama.

The success has been there for Brian Kelly and his assistant coaches. That part is for sure. However, Kelly might be sitting in front of his best crop of coaches yet.

What will become of them?

The answer will likely come sooner than you think. Let’s dive into the next group of head coaches Kelly has at his disposal.

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