Mr. CFB No. 8: Notre Dame

In 2016 it looked like Brian Kelly was on his way out the door at Notre Dame. The Irish had gone 4-8 and looked incredibly bad doing it.

But Kelly took stock of his program and, after a series of brutally honest meetings with everybody from the athletics director, to the players to the maintenance staff, Kelly made changes. Lots and lots of changes.

His biggest change Kelly made was in the way he related to his players. He began attending the 6:30 a.m. weight-lifting sessions. There were more one-on-one sessions. Additional staff members were hired to take care of the needs—both physical and emotional--of the players.

The results from this makeover have been dramatic. Notre Dame has posted four straight seasons of 10 wins or more, a first in Notre Dame’s 115-year college football history. That run includes two trips to the College Football Playoff in the past three seasons. They lost both semifinal games.

Whether or not the Irish can get back to the playoffs in 2021 will depend on several factors.

After what seemed like 10 years as the starter, Ian Book is gone at quarterback. Jack Coan, the former starter at Wisconsin, takes over and there is reason for optimism. As a junior in 2019, he completed almost 70 percent of his passes for more than 2,700 yards and 18 touchdowns as Wisconsin went 10-4. A foot injury in 2020 opened the door for Graham Mertz to take the job and never let go. Coan transferred to Notre Dame in January.

Kelly named Coan the starter earlier this summer.

Speaking of Kelly, he is about to enter his 12th season as the head coach of the Irish. He needs only four wins to surpass Knute Rockne’s record of 105 victories in South Bend.

Notre Dame has a couple of quality running backs in Kyren Williams (1,125 yards rushing last season) and Chris Tyree. The concern is the offensive line, where four starters must be replaced.

It is a most interesting schedule that includes a Sept. 5 (Sunday night) trip to Florida State, a Sept. 25 game with Wisconsin at Soldier Field, an Oct. 2 home game with Cincinnati, and an Oct. 30 home game with North Carolina.

Note: The above photo is one of Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly  during the Irish's CFP game with Alabama on Jan. 1, 2021. The photo is credited to Kirby Lee.