Brian Kelly reveals the disconnect with Notre Dame administration that led to his exit

While speaking to Paul Finebaum in Destin, Florida for the annual SEC spring meetings last week, LSU head coach Brian Kelly revealed a tidbit of why he decided to leave Notre Dame despite the wealth of success he was enjoying with the Fighting Irish.

“We were at a different place,” Kelly said about leaving Notre Dame. “I think the administration felt like they were in a position where they had done what they needed to do. I felt like there was more that needed to be done and I was fine with that decision.

“[Notre Dame is] going to continue to move their program forward. My clock was at a different place – that happens in everything in life. And so this wasn’t antagonistic, there was no bitterness, but it’s just that my clock in terms of what I needed to see happen was at a different time.

In Kelly’s place, the Fighting Irish have hired Marcus Freeman, who at 35 years old is the second youngest headman in Notre Dame history. Enjoying success at Cincinnati, Freeman became a Broyles Award finalist in 2020 before moving on to South Bend as Kelly’s defensive coordinator. Kelly reportedly tried to bring Freeman with him, but Notre Dame’s head coaching offer was too sweet to pass up.

Nevertheless, coming from Notre Dame, Kelly led the Fighting Irish to five consecutive 10-win seasons, including two trips to the College Football Playoffs in 2018 and 2020, respectively and a trip to the BCS National Championship game in 2012.

That immense success didn’t start overnight. Kelly took over the Irish program in 2010 From Charlie Weis, who led the Irish to a Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl in back-to-back years before compiling a 16-21 record over his final three years before receiving the boot. 

Kelly immediately came in and kept Notre Dame as major players in college football and eventually became the program’s winningest head coach in history. Aside from one notable 4-8 season in 2016, the Fighting Irish won at least eight games in every season Kelly was in South Bend and that same immediate success is mandatory for Kelly, who took the looming task of leading one of college football’s most historic programs into a new era.

“[The LSU head coaching] opportunity opened up at the same time. It’s time and place, and this opportunity for me was one that I just felt like I needed to take.”