With Brian Kelly's Job In Jeopardy; Here Are Five Candidates That Could Land At Notre Dame In 2017
Notre Dame, currently 2-4 for the season, enters Saturday’s contest
versus a tough Stanford Cardinal team that’s looking to end its
two-game losing streak. Many of the Fighting Irish faithful are already calling for a change in South Bend, having lost confidence in head coach Brian Kelly. Last week the team mustered only 37 passing yards in 30 plus attempts, albeit in extremely wet and windy conditions
from Hurricane Matthew, in another hapless loss, this time versus NC
State. It was a game in which they didn’t allow an offensive touchdown.
Paul Finebaum most recently went after Kelly, following the recent struggles stating,
“He blamed everyone on his team a couple weeks ago. He said that he would be re-evaluating; he
blamed his defensive coordinator and fired him. He blamed his quarterback, who has had a really nice year. And (Saturday), he called out the center, saying he had been snapping atrociously in the middle of a hurricane. You know, I’m beginning to wonder, who’s next for Brian Kelly to blame: Donald Trump?”
Contrary to Finebaum’s vehement comments, Irish players have come to their coach’s defense, including senior captain Mike McGlinchey, who said:
“He runs our program unbelievably well. We’re all lucky to have a coach like him and he takes care of us more than anybody I can even imagine anybody ever doing. Obviously things get said and we’re 2-4 and things are said after a football game that — everybody’s pretty emotional after certain things like that and things can easily get misstated and that’s all that that is. It’s our job to execute the gameplan that they put in place, and we didn’t do a good enough job of doing that on the last Saturday. So I think that it comes down to a whole team effort, both coaching and playing better. I think that obviously he’s the head coach and he’s going to take a lot of the fault for what’s going on on our program right now, but it comes down to a mindset, like I said, of executing our job and doing our job one day and one play at a time.”
Brian Kelly has started the 2016 season with
a 2-4 record and a return in 2017 is not a certainty at this
point
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
“He blamed everyone on his team a couple weeks ago. He said that he would be re-evaluating; he
blamed his defensive coordinator and fired him. He blamed his quarterback, who has had a really nice year. And (Saturday), he called out the center, saying he had been snapping atrociously in the middle of a hurricane. You know, I’m beginning to wonder, who’s next for Brian Kelly to blame: Donald Trump?”
Contrary to Finebaum’s vehement comments, Irish players have come to their coach’s defense, including senior captain Mike McGlinchey, who said:
“He runs our program unbelievably well. We’re all lucky to have a coach like him and he takes care of us more than anybody I can even imagine anybody ever doing. Obviously things get said and we’re 2-4 and things are said after a football game that — everybody’s pretty emotional after certain things like that and things can easily get misstated and that’s all that that is. It’s our job to execute the gameplan that they put in place, and we didn’t do a good enough job of doing that on the last Saturday. So I think that it comes down to a whole team effort, both coaching and playing better. I think that obviously he’s the head coach and he’s going to take a lot of the fault for what’s going on on our program right now, but it comes down to a mindset, like I said, of executing our job and doing our job one day and one play at a time.”
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Of course Brian Kelly’s run offense, which includes McGlinchey (offensive lineman), has not done him any favors, ranking 98th in yards per carry and 111th in converting third downs. His defense also ranks 78th in points given up at 29.5 per game.
Kelly was 55-23 as the Irish head coach before this year’s rough start of 2-4. The record might not improve much either, with Notre Dame still facing three ranked opponents; Miami (FL), Virginia Tech and Navy, and a remaining schedule that sees all six remaining opponents with a winning record. Irish fans could grow weary of Kelly, especially if he finishes winless, going 2-10 on the season.
Even the six straight bowl appearances, including a trip to the BCS Championship Game (lost to Alabama 42-14) may not be enough for a fan base and athletic program with such high expectations. In Kelly’s defense, this is the toughest schedule he’s had while at Notre Dame and he still boasts a .692 winning percentage, something that Irish fans should not forget, especially since Kelly has brought them sustained success not seen since being led by Lou Holtz in 90s.
In 2015, Notre Dame provided Coach Kelly with a six-year contract extension. Kelly is the highest paid active athletics employee at Notre Dame, with a total of $1.62 million this year, including $995,000 in base salary and nearly $451,000 in bonus pay, which shockingly ranked 68th among coaches in 2015, mostly behind those in the Power 5 Conferences. Although the terms of the extension were not disclosed, since the university is a private institution, it’s assumed that a buyout due to dismissal of Kelly would come at a significant cost to Notre Dame.
If such move were to be made, which new coach would make most sense for a team with limited talent, but a huge recruiting draw? Several names have been considered, ranging from the obvious Tom Herman to wild card selections like Lane Kiffin and Jim Tressel. Even Bob Stoops, who is rumored to be wanting some new scenery in the college football world, although it’s unlikely with his recent extension.
Let’s see what these candidates have to offer and their potential financial implications if Notre Dame moves on from Brian Kelly either this year or in 2017.
Les Miles – Former LSU Head Coach
Kelly was 55-23 as the Irish head coach before this year’s rough start of 2-4. The record might not improve much either, with Notre Dame still facing three ranked opponents; Miami (FL), Virginia Tech and Navy, and a remaining schedule that sees all six remaining opponents with a winning record. Irish fans could grow weary of Kelly, especially if he finishes winless, going 2-10 on the season.
Even the six straight bowl appearances, including a trip to the BCS Championship Game (lost to Alabama 42-14) may not be enough for a fan base and athletic program with such high expectations. In Kelly’s defense, this is the toughest schedule he’s had while at Notre Dame and he still boasts a .692 winning percentage, something that Irish fans should not forget, especially since Kelly has brought them sustained success not seen since being led by Lou Holtz in 90s.
In 2015, Notre Dame provided Coach Kelly with a six-year contract extension. Kelly is the highest paid active athletics employee at Notre Dame, with a total of $1.62 million this year, including $995,000 in base salary and nearly $451,000 in bonus pay, which shockingly ranked 68th among coaches in 2015, mostly behind those in the Power 5 Conferences. Although the terms of the extension were not disclosed, since the university is a private institution, it’s assumed that a buyout due to dismissal of Kelly would come at a significant cost to Notre Dame.
If such move were to be made, which new coach would make most sense for a team with limited talent, but a huge recruiting draw? Several names have been considered, ranging from the obvious Tom Herman to wild card selections like Lane Kiffin and Jim Tressel. Even Bob Stoops, who is rumored to be wanting some new scenery in the college football world, although it’s unlikely with his recent extension.
Let’s see what these candidates have to offer and their potential financial implications if Notre Dame moves on from Brian Kelly either this year or in 2017.
Les Miles – Former LSU Head Coach
- Overall Coaching Record (141-55)
- Accolades: National Championship Titles (2007), BCS Championship Games (2), Bowl Appearances (14), SEC Conference Championships (2), AP Coach of the Year (2011), SEC Coach of the Year (2011)
- Miles was fired by LSU two weeks ago following a loss to Auburn. He had a .770 winning percentage as the Tigers head coach and second all-time in school history for wins. According to terms of his contract, Miles is due a buyout of approximately $10 million with the dismissal.
- Overall Coaching Record (18-1), Currently Ranked #6th
- Accolades: American Conference Coach of the Year (2015), American Conference Titles (1), Bowl Appearances (1)
- Currently, Herman makes $3 million a year along with additional incentives. He is also paid more than UH President and Chancellor Renu Khator, who made $1.3 million in total compensation for 2014-15.
- Overall Coaching Record (182-48)
- Accolades: Bowl Appearances (17), BCS Championship Games (3), BCS Championship Title (2000), CFB Playoff Appearances (1), Big 12 Conference Titles (9), Has won Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl
- Oklahoma provided Stoops with an extension this offseason that will see him making $5.5 million this season and upwards of $6.5 million in 2021, the last season of the six-year deal. He’s one of the most prolific coaches in the last two decades, with experience in countless big games and championships. Details of the buyout of Stoops’s contract are uncertain.
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- Overall Coaching Record (112-24), Currently Ranked #5
- Accolades: Fiesta Bowl Wins (2), BCS Bowl Wins (2), Bowl Appearances (9), Undefeated Seasons (2), WAC Conference Titles (4)
- Petersen agreed to a five-year $18 million contract with UW in 2013, which made him one of the highest-paid coaches in the Pac-12. The university then offered him an extension in November which will see him earning $4 million annually in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and has a buyout of $2.5 million.
- Overall Coaching Record (57-38)
- Accolades: Bowl Appearances (6), Orange Bowl (2014)
- Mullen received an extension from Mississippi State in 2015, earned $4 million in 2015 and an average of $4.275 million through 2018. A long shot for consideration, Mullen has built the Bulldog program into an established contender in the SEC. Like Stoops, details of Mullen’s buyout were not disclosed with the announcement of the extension.
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