Fansided

Top-10 coaches most likely to make the jump to the NFL

By Robert Judin

Oct 3, 2015; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin reacts from the sidelines against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2015; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin reacts from the sidelines against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 26, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly watches his team warm up before a game against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeats Massachusetts 62-27. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly watches his team warm up before a game against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeats Massachusetts 62-27. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Brian Kelly – Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Before Brian Kelly took over in 2010, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish program was a mess. They’ve gone through four head coaches — not including Kelly — since Lou Holtz left in 1996 and only had two seasons of double-digit wins during that time.

Kelly has come in and revived the program. After back-to-back seasons of being 8-5, Kelly led Notre Dame to the BCS Championship game in 2012. The only problem was Notre Dame ran into an Alabama Crimson Tide team that was bigger, faster and more talented.

Still, Notre Dame went 12-1 that year and is contending for a spot in this year’s CFP.

Kelly is 104-43 as a college head coach, and he was 34-6 with Cincinnati — which landed him the job at Notre Dame. He’s gone 51-21 since then. But with Notre Dame’s recent history with its coaches, you have to wonder if Kelly doesn’t have an ulterior motive.

Every coach dreams of coaching in the NFL one day, and Kelly may never get a better opportunity than this season to make the jump.

He lost his starting running back, Tarean Folston, to a torn ACL before the season. He’s lost six other players to season-ending injuries — including starting quarterback Malik Zaire. Yet, Kelly has Notre Dame at 6-1 with its only loss coming on the road against a talented Clemson team.

If Kelly leads the Fighting Irish to the CFP this season, he should look to test the waters of the NFL. After all, Notre Dame only has 16 commits for the 2016 recruiting class so far, with zero five-star prospects.

The window for Kelly is short, but it’s open.

Next: Hugh Freeze

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