Notre Dame Football: Looking back at Brian Kelly’s run to 100 wins
Notre Dame Football: Looking back at Brian Kelly’s run to 100 wins
Kelly a top-5 Notre Dame coach?
No one will ever surpass Knute Rockne. He built the program, made it a national brand, and won three national championships with Notre Dame. Frank Leahy, similarly, is almost impossible to pass. His four national championships as a head coach, not counting his 1940 National Championship at Boston College, are the most by a coach in Notre Dame history. His 87 wins would undoubtedly be over Rockne’s 105 mark if he hadn’t stepped away to fight in World War II.
That leaves Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine, and Lou Holtz. Parseghian’s 95 wins over 11 seasons and two National Championships are excellent. His .836 winning percentage is other worldly compared to Devine, Holtz, and Kelly. So, one major bowl, or even one National Championship wouldn’t put him close to Parseghian.
Dan Devine, on the other hand, only has one National Championship and a little over half the wins that Kelly does at Notre Dame. If he takes that next step forward this season he would definitively step past Devine. He’d also, arguably, step past Holtz. Finishing the job this season would give Kelly as many National Championships as Holtz and more wins.
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Kelly moving beyond that six slot on the list of all time coaches is hypothetical, though. He needs to finish the job this season to do that, which he’s never been able to before. Of course, he never beat a team like Clemson before either. This could just be Kelly’s team of destiny. In the mean time, though, it’s a great time to enjoy the 100th win under Brian Kelly.