Notre Dame Fighting Irish athletic director Jack Swarbrick has backed head football coach Brian Kelly going forward, despite a terrible 4-8 season.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a terrible 2016 NCAA season. They finished 4-8 on the year and head coach Brian Kelly was definitely under immense scrutiny by the Notre Dame faithful.
Kelly had a down year, but he’s not going to be forced out of South Bend despite the poor record. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick publicly backed Kelly during his weekly radio show on Saturday.
This is a wise move by Swarbrick because Notre Dame hasn’t had a head coach this good since Lou Holtz roamed the sidelines in the 1980s. Notre Dame doesn’t have the recruiting advantages as it once did.
One could argue that Notre Dame’s strict academic policies, not having many top recruits in Indiana, and the overall isolation of the South Bend campus make it increasingly harder for the Irish to stay competitive in the College Football Playoff era.
Kelly may be growing increasingly frustrated with the difficulties that come with the Notre Dame job. He’s been there for almost a decade and this job does tend to wear out the best of head coaches.
Kelly could leave South Bend for another Power 5 job. Should Notre Dame ever fire Kelly, he’d be out of work for maybe 72 hours. Swarbrick recognizes this and wants to make it work with Kelly in South Bend for the foreseeable future.
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Something has to give with the Notre Dame program here very soon. If Kelly feels he has worn out his welcome, he will leave and take another Power 5 team to a New Year’s Six bowl in a matter of months. The best bet to keep him in South Bend is to have the reassurance of his athletic director Swarbrick. Will that be enough to keep Kelly content in leading the Fighting Irish for the rest of the decade?