Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Football: Roaring Past the Brian Kelly Era

It felt like the sky was falling when Brian Kelly left Notre Dame in 2021. The opposite happened.
Mason Plummer|
Nov 23, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly reacts to a play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Nov 23, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly reacts to a play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Just over three years ago now, in a shocking move that rocked the college football world to its core, Brian Kelly packed up and left Notre Dame in the middle of the night and season to take the LSU job in Baton Rouge.

Notre Dame was still in the playoff hunt, yet Kelly decided it was time to go while he was at a recruit's house and up and left Notre Dame after saying about 10 words to the players and staff he had been with for years. This was strikingly similar to how he left Cincinnati to take the job at Notre Dame.

While some are tired of hearing/talking about Kelly, there is plenty of reason for fans to enjoy seeing him barely go .500 in the SEC while Notre Dame is ROLLING in a way that has not been seen in 30+ years.

Kelly left Notre Dame for what he thought was a better opportunity in Louisiana and in the SEC where recruiting would be easier and he would have better facilities, but none of that has helped him yet, while Notre Dame is in its best position to win a national title in 30 years.

In 11 seasons at Notre Dame, Kelly was unable to win a single New Years Six bowl game, much less a national title or playoff game. While the playoffs have expanded since Kelly left Notre Dame, it is still true that Freeman won two more playoff games than Kelly (2-0) has at Notre Dame or LSU.

All in all, it could not be more clear that losing Kelly was addition by subtraction. The Fighting Irish had peaked under Kelly and never showed the ability to win big games. It has done the exact opposite under Freeman, and he is exactly the reason why.

Notre Dame plays with a different speed and swagger under Freeman that fans could only have dreamt of under Kelly. The team plays differently, acts differently, and certainly has a confidence it never seemed to have before.

You don't take down Georgia 23-10 in the Sugar Bowl without really believing it was possible.

And it all started with this ...

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Mason Plummer
MASON PLUMMER

Covered Notre Dame football recruiting since 2017 for Irish Breakdown, Blue & Gold Illustrated and Notre Dame On SI. Covering Notre Dame professionally got me my start in journalism, which led me to getting my degrees in Journalism and Communications from Ball State University in 2021. Featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, Rivals, On3 and more. Have missed multiple weddings and graduation parties for Notre Dame games.

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