Notre Dame Football: Potential replacements for Brian Kelly

Brian Kelly has been fairly successful during his tenure as the head coach of the Notre Dame football team. However, Kelly has done nothing to dispel the notion that Notre Dame is perennially overrated due to the fact that he has failed to win the big game as the head coach of the Irish.

The 45-14 drubbing at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines marks the 11th consecutive road game that Brian Kelly has lost to a top 20 ranked team — a streak that dates back seven years. In addition, Notre Dame football is now 4-12 in games against top 25 ranked opponents with Brian Kelly as their head coach.

While Brian Kelly has done a great job of making Notre Dame relevant again, and has even coached them to a national championship matchup and a College Football Playoff game, he has failed to elevate Notre Dame to elite status.

As a result, the clamoring for him to be replaced will likely become more fervent among Irish fans. Should Notre Dame and Kelly decide to part ways, here are some potential candidates to think about.

P.J. Fleck

P.J. Fleck has been the head coach for Minnesota since 2017. During that time, he has gone 20-13 with the Golden Gophers and currently holds an 8-0 record on the year. He has Minnesota ranked No. 13 in the AP poll. Prior to coming to Minnesota, Fleck was the head coach of Western Michigan University. At WMU, Fleck had a 28-19 record. Astoundingly, he was able to bring Western Michigan from a relatively unknown football program all the way to an AP ranking of 12 in his final year at the program.

During that time, Fleck won the MAC championship and was a two-time MAC coach of the year award winner. At only 39 years of age, Fleck would undoubtedly be able to connect with the young college players ,and given his previous track record, would be an ideal candidate for the Notre Dame football coaching position in South Bend should the Irish and Brian Kelly part ways.

Scott Satterfield

Scott Satterfield is in his first year at Louisville, working on bringing the Cardinals back from relative obscurity. So far this year, he holds a 5-3 record at Louisville. Sattersfield’s success doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched his teams at Appalachian State. During his time at Appalachian State, he would bring the Mountaineers to prominence, where they would receive the first top 25 ranking in school history.

In addition, Satterfield coached Appalachian State to three Sun Belt championships while being named the Sun Belt Conference’s coach of the year in 2018. The 47-year-old, who successfully put the Appalachian State program on the map, could be a candidate to fill a role for the Irish. However, given that he has only been at Louisville for one year, it is less likely that he would make the jump should a position open at Notre Dame.  That said, the head coaching position at Notre Dame would certainly be much more prestigious and lucrative than the Louisville position he currently holds.

Chris Peterson

55-year-old Chris Peterson made a name for himself as the head coach of Boise State, where he would end his tenure with a record of 92-12. During that time, Peterson was able to make Boise State a formidable football program in the college football ranks, as they were perennial bowl game invitees. After being wildly successful with the Broncos, Peterson would accept the head coaching position at the University of Washington, where he has coached the Huskies to a 52-24 record.  He is often mentioned in the same breadth as the elite coaches in college football such as Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney. Peterson coached Boise State to one Mountain West Conference championship and four WAC championships and has won two PAC-12 conference championships with Washington.

He won the Bobby Dodd coach of the year award in 2010 and the Paul “Bear”Bryant Award in both 2006 and 2009.

Peterson would be an excellent candidate for the Notre Dame job, should it arise, assuming that he is willing to walk away from Washington and the roughly $4.4 million annually that they are currently paying him.

Gary Patterson

Gary Patterson has been the head coach at TCU 2000, in which time he has compiled a record of 171-66 with the Hornfrogs — making them a perennial contender in college football. The accolades for the 59-year-old Patterson are impressive. He is a two time AFCA coach of the year (2009, 2014), a two time AP coach of the year (2009, 2014), the Bobby Dodd coach of the year (2009), a two time Eddie Robinson coach of the year (2009, 2014), a two time Walter Camp coach of the year (2009, 2014) a two time Woody Hayes Trophy winner (2009, 2014), The Home Depot coach of the year (2014), the Paul Bryant Award winner (2014), the Conference USA coach of the year (2002), a two time Mid West Conference coach of the year (2005, 2009) and the Big 10 coach of the year (2014).

The resume is impressive for Patterson, who is a legend at TCU. The biggest question regarding him being a candidate for a potential vacancy in South Bend is whether he would be willing to leave TCU, where he is so highly regarded.

Bronco Mendenhall

Bronco Mendenhall made a name for himself as the head coach of the BYU football program, where he coached the Cougars to a 99-43 record during his tenure. During his time as the head coach at BYU, Mendenhall never had a losing season. In addition, he had five 10-win seasons while coaching the Cougars.

After success at BYU, Mendenhall would take over as the coach at the University of Virginia. Prior to taking over, the Cavaliers had a losing record in eight of the ten prior seasons and were essentially irrelevant in the college football universe. While Mendenhall suffered a losing season his first year at the helm of Virginia’s program, he has quickly brought them success, as they have been ranked in the AP top 25 the past two seasons. Virginia played the Irish tough this season, before ultimately being defeated 35-20.  His success certainly makes him a prime candidate, should Notre Dame find itself looking for a new head coach next season.