Notre Dame football: Trying to explain why Brian Kelly left for LSU
Why would Brian Kelly leave Notre Dame football for LSU? Here’s a brief dive into the difference between the two programs that could lead to this decision.
For a lot of coaches, including Brian Kelly, being the head coach for the Notre Dame football program is a dream job. There are very few jobs with as much history or prestige as Notre Dame carries. So, why would he choose to leave for LSU now?
It’s difficult to explain, of course, and until Kelly (and he may never do so honestly) comes out and explains no one will ever know. However, there are a few logical guesses that we can make about Brian Kelly’s current mindset, and why he’d leave one blue blood for another.
Why would Brian Kelly leave the Notre Dame football program
The first thing to consider is that Kelly feels he’s done all he possibly can do at Notre Dame. He could very likely feel that he’s currently at the peak of what he could possibly achieve at Notre Dame. After all, when was the last time Notre Dame had five straight ten-win seasons?
It’s a trick question, they never have done that before. On top of that, he’s already the winningest coach in Notre Dame history.
Really, the only thing Notre Dame hasn’t done under Kelly is win a National Championship. So, what if Kelly has looked at this team, this program, this culture, and said that there is no way to win a championship in South Bend during the current era. Maybe he thinks it’s too difficult to recruit enough depth to win in the postseason.
One place it isn’t difficult to win is LSU. Their last three coaches have all won National Championships. They have unlimited budgets to make the program thrive. They’re in a key recruiting footprint, and they don’t put limitations or restrictions on who they can recruit the way that Notre Dame does.
This makes it much easier to win there. Imagine, National Champion at LSU and the winningest coach at Notre Dame on the same resume?
Then, there is the other elephant in the room. The money. The Athletic has reported that the deal is worth 10 years and $100 million. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports reported that the deal is worth $15 million annually. Until official details emerge, likely from a FOIA request, then we won’t know for sure. However, if Notre Dame couldn’t match this number then it could have been an economic choice. After all, sometimes money just talks.
Even if we never know why Brian Kelly wasn’t destined to finish his career at Notre Dame, we can come up with a pretty good guess as to why he’s leaving. This way, we can at least try and come to terms with the decision.