What would it take for Brian Kelly to make the Notre Dame Football Hall of Fame?
Brian Kelly needed three seasons to make it to cement his Bearcat legacy. What would he have to accomplish to make the Notre Dame football Hall of Fame?
It has been announced that the Cincinnati Bearcats will be inducting former coach, Brian Kelly, into their hall of fame. Before leaving Cincinnati to take the helm of the Notre Dame football team, Brian Kelly lead the Bearcats to a 12-0 season and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl.
As the Cincinnati head coach for three full seasons, Kelly compiled a record of 34-6. He had three top 25 finishes, and made two major bowl games. Kelly also won two conference championships during his three seasons in Cincinnati. This was all while Cincinnati was still in the Big East.
In the history of Cincinnati football, only two coaches have more wins than Kelly, Rick Minter and Sid Gillman. That latter of those two, Gillman, is in the College Football Hall of Fame. There were also 12 coaches to have coached more more games at Cincinnati than Kelly. To put it simply, Kelly accomplished more at Cincinnati, in less time, than anyone else. He’s well deserving of their Hall of Fame.
He’s had more time to find success at Notre Dame, but is certainly not one of the elite coaches in program history. So, what would it take for Brian Kelly to find himself in the Notre Dame Football Hall of Fame?
The obvious, and easy thing that Brian Kelly will need is a National Championship.
As of now, there are five coaches in the Notre Dame Football Hall of Fame. They are Dan Devine, Jesse Harper, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, and, of course, Knute Rockne. Of that group, only Harper never won a National Championship. Harper did, however, make Notre Dame a household name in the world of college football. Harper also only lost five times in as many seasons.
Everyone else in the Notre Dame Football Hall of Fame has won at least one National Championship. Lou Holtz also has a National Championship but is not in the Hall of Fame.
In other words, a single National Championship may not be enough for Kelly to one day enter the Notre Dame Football Hall of Fame.
However, given Kelly’s longevity at Notre Dame, and multiple undefeated regular seasons, a single National Championship should be enough for Kelly to make the Hall of Fame. Kelly brought the Irish back from a string of unsuccessful seasons following Holtz leaving. He’s put Notre Dame back in the national eye.
Kelly deserves more credit than he gets from Notre Dame fans. Losing in major games has often left fans with a bad taste in their mouths, but when you compare Notre Dame football under Charlie Weis, compared to now, it’s obvious that Kelly brought Notre Dame back from behind the 8-ball. That may not be enough to make the Hall of Fame, but if he adds a championship, Kelly should make it.