Notre Dame football: What is the Legacy of Brian Kelly with the Irish?

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SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – MAY 01: Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts during the first half of the Blue-Gold Spring Game at Notre Dame Stadium on May 01, 2021, in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

Notre Dame football: What is the Legacy of Brian Kelly with the Irish?

Off the field and final thoughts

You also need to consider a couple of off-the-field incidents. The first is the death of Declan Sullivan. Yes, the story of the student who died after falling from a scissor lift on Kelly’s watch is an important part of his legacy.

His death was found to be the university’s fault, meaning it was Kelly’s fault. That can’t be ignored.

Then, there is how he handled the Prince Shembo case. Shembo, who maintains his innocence, was accused of sexually assaulting Lizzy Seeberg, a student at St. Mary’s College. She killed herself after receiving threats for reporting the assault.

Police couldn’t press charges due to her death, while Kelly was accused of trying to cover up the assault. That’s something Notre Dame football fans have tried to overlook but can’t be forgotten.

So, where does all of this leave Kelly’s legacy? On the one hand, he put the Irish back on the map and did the things needed to find success. However, it came at the expense of having a coach willing to push his morals to the side to succeed. That sounds like one of the common complaints against someone like Urban Meyer or even Art Briles.

In other words, Kelly was good for Notre Dame. The program needed him to get back to being relevant on the national stage, but at times, it cost the program some of its moral high ground.

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