If there is one sure sign that a coach is in some serious trouble across all sports, it is the almighty “vote of confidence” from his boss.
Brian Kelly has to be on uneasy footing then, because Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick gave his blessing to Kelly continuing on as the team’s head coach despite a 2-5 start to the 2016 season.
In fact, Kelly wouldn’t just finish out this season according to Swarbrick, he would also be the man leading this team out of the tunnel for its opener in 2017 as well.
“Brian will lead this team out of the tunnel opening day next year,” Swarbrick told ESPN.com.
Winning has a way to mask things, but with Kelly leading an Irish team that hasn’t found a defense and hasn’t found a quarterback they want to stick with, public criticism has ratcheted up a few notches as of late.
It hasn’t helped that Kelly has a very in-your-face style when dealing with players on the sidelines and a less-than-cordial relationship with the media in some post-game
Swarbrick doesn’t see that part of Kelly matching who the man is when the cameras aren’t watching. However, he does see a need to make the perception match the reality when the cameras are on him.
“I guess I’d say I wish the perception matched the reality a little better. I understand the perception, but we’ve got to work to alter that perception because it creates noise and gets in the way. But the reality couldn’t be further from it. I’m not going to reveal the nature of the postgame discussion between Brian and the team after Stanford [a loss on Saturday], but that was a discussion between a coach and a team who really care about each other and have a great relationship, and that’s what I get to see every day.”
Kelly has searched hard for answers that will work for a team who some saw as a College Football Playoff contender before the season. That has included firing his defensive coordinator, Brian VanGorder, and switching between Malik Ziare and DeShone Kizer at quarterback with little to no success.
While it appears that Swarbrick is committed to the future of Kelly at Notre Dame, will Kelly be as committed to the Irish? Given the insane scrutiny he has seen in South Bend, perhaps he would take the opportunity to bounce before his stock falls even more.
Certainly this situation is worth watching, especially if the losses continue to pile up for a team full of highly-recruited players that aren’t getting the job done according to Notre Dame’s lofty expectations.
