Notre Dame football: The curious timeline of Brian Kelly’s departure
By Andrew Hall
Notre Dame football: The curious timeline of Brian Kelly’s departure
7:00 am on Nov. 30 – Brian Kelly meets with Notre Dame players
According to multiple reports, Kelly spoke with the team for less than two minutes. Following his remarks, he turned around and walked out. Kelly did not take questions from the players. Eleven minutes later, Brian Kelly was seen driving away in his blue Mercedes SUV.
Irish players departed the Guglielmino Athletics Complex around 7:23 am.
9:02 am on Nov. 30 – LSU announces Brian Kelly as Head Coach
LSU announced Brian Kelly as the 34th head coach in school history. His social media profile changed sometime around this announcement indicating his new position with the Tigers. The graphic added, “Fighting Tigers” as an obvious troll to Notre Dame.
10:00 am on Nov. 30 – Jack Swarbrick meets with media
Swarbrick discusses the departure of Brian Kelly and the next steps. Many expected the announcement of defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman as the interim head coach. However, no interim was named.
2:10 on Nov. 30 – Irish suffer their first de-commitment
Defensive back Devin Moore de-committed from Notre Dame. Moore became the first departure from the 2022 Fighting Irish recruiting class. It is unclear how many others will join Moore before the National Signing Day on Dec. 15.
Approximately 2:30 on Nov. 30 – Brian Kelly lands in Baton Rouge
New LSU coach Brian Kelly, his wife Paqui, and his daughter Grace landed via private jet in Baton Rouge along with LSU athletic director Scott Woodward.
5:38 pm on Nov. 30 – Balis stays in South Bend
Notre Dame Director of Football Performance Matt Balis declines to join Brian Kelly at LSU and remains in South Bend. In a video posted by the football program, Balis told the players that he would not leave during a workout.
7:15 pm on Nov. 30 – Notre Dame ranked No. 6 in College Football Playoff
The Fighting Irish landed at No. 6 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings. According to chairman Gary Barta, the loss of Brian Kelly could impact Notre Dame’s playoff status.