Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly reached an impressive milestone on Saturday, notching his 100th victory as head coach of the storied program.
With Saturday’s win over Boston College Brian Kelly hit the 100-win mark during his time with Notre Dame. Of course, that includes 2012 and 2013’s wins. Without those wins he’d still be at 80 wins. In his career as a head coach, regardless of school, he is at 270 wins.
Kelly’s 100th win ties him on the list of all-time wins at Notre Dame with Lou Holtz. It leaves him five wins ahead of Ara Parseghian, 13 wins ahead of Frank Leahy, and 47 wins ahead of Dan Devine. In fact, the only coach that he actively trails at Notre Dame in term of total wins is Knute Rockne, who had 105.
This, along with Kelly starting to push Rockne as the long the tenured coach in Notre Dame history has to make you wonder about where Kelly sits in the long line of great Irish coaches.
Yes, the five coaches generally considered to be the best in Notre Dame history, Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, Devine, and Holtz all won National Championships. Kelly, on two realistic chances, has been blown out twice with the opportunity. Still, even without national championship, Kelly has done a remarkable job at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame Football: Looking back at Brian Kelly’s run to 100 wins
How did we get here
The team that he inherited was bare bones, coming off the disastrous Charlie Weis era. That was after the frustration of the Tyrone Willingham era, which was preceded by the slide known as the Bob Davie era. In total it was about 17 years since Notre Dame had last had a great team when Kelly took over.
During that time the game changed. Almost everyone is on TV, devaluing the NBC deal. Athletic facilities make Vatican City look modest. Notre Dame’s name had lost a lot of its once lofty weight.
It was Kelly’s job to convince players to come to an academically-minded school, and with fewer benefits on campus for student athletes than most power schools. That’s not an easy thing to do, and at times it seems as if Kelly is still figuring things out in recruitment, but he has made the most out of that talent. He’s produced two undefeated regular seasons, and another two with more than 10 wins.
Yes, Kelly has still come up short in big games, but he’s made Notre Dame one of the great programs in college football again. He’s made them a top-15 team annually, with top-5 potential. After the three coaches before Kelly, no Irish fan could possibly have wanted or expected more.
If Kelly brings Notre Dame their first major bowl win since the 1994 Cotton Bowl, or even their first National Championship since 1988, he has to be considered a top five coach in Notre Dame history.
This would, of course, mean bumping out one of the five current legends that make up the top 5 coaches in Notre Dame history. So, which coach would that be?
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.
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.