Ten years ago this week, Jack Swarbrick made one of the most consequential decisions in Notre Dame football history in hiring the 29th head coach of the Fighting Irish. This installment is no longer Charlie Weis’ Last Stand, but instead the first glimpse at Brian Kelly.
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The Candidates
From what I can gather from going back and looking at coverage of the coaching search, there was no doubt that Brian Kelly was the only candidate Swarbrick offered the job. However, this was not readily apparent as the search kicked off. In hindsight, the multitude of candidates who were connected to ND can be placed into tiers ranging from the fantastical to the realistic.
The “Never Gonna Happen” Tier
Urban Meyer, Bob Stoops, Jon Gruden, Jim Harbaugh
The Four Horsemen of the NDNation Apocalypse were likely considered by ND, but none were offered the job for various reasons. Irish muse Meyer was just about to have his first medical episode which would spell the end of his Florida tenure. Bob Stoops was more than happy at Oklahoma despite message board speculation that he wanted to be in South Bend.
Gruden has been every jilted college football fan’s heartthrob, but it would take another nine years before he would don the headset once again. Even so, Swarbrick publicly stated that he wanted a coach with experience leading a college program which ruled out any NFL coaches. There would be no Tony Dungy or Brian Billick under the dome.
Believe it or not but there was actual speculation that Jim Harbaugh was a potential candidate in South Bend. Mark Schlabach was the first to suggest this marriage, but under the caveat that “[Harbaugh] might be a little too brash and confident for Notre Dame’s tastes.” Yeah, no kidding. However, Harbaugh was destined for the NFL at this point and Michigan is probably the only program that could’ve lured him back to college football.
The “I’m Happy Where I’m At” Tier
Chris Petersen, Gary Patterson, Pat Fitzgerald, Kirk Ferentz
Remember when Petersen and Patterson were two guys coaching at programs with no hope of making the BCS championship? Coincidentally enough, 12-0 Boise State would meet 12-0 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl that season because college football’s ruling cabal didn’t want these teams to threaten a traditional power. Regardless, both of these coaches publicly denied interest in Notre Dame and only Petersen would move on to greener pastures on the West Coast.
Fitzgerald has been an oft-mentioned name ever since he turned Northwestern into a respectable program, but we now know that he’s a lifer at his Alma mater. Besides, I doubt his occasional verbal grenades aimed at Notre Dame would have endeared him to the fanbase. And his consistently putrid offenses would not have earned any plaudits either.
Ferentz is an interesting case because there were reports that he met with Notre Dame’s search firm before publicly removing himself as a candidate. Iowa had just gone 10-2 and would win the Orange Bowl, but like Fitzgerald it would be hard to imagine Ferentz outside Iowa City.
The “Probably Would Have Accepted if Offered” Tier
Paul Johnson, Tom Clements, Randy Edsall
Johnson had just finished his second year at Georgia Tech with an ACC title and an Orange Bowl berth. He was 20-6 and his run in Atlanta had gone better than anyone expected, which is why some national reporters tepidly connected him to ND. His comments over the years seem to indicate that he was looking for one last big-time gig to prove that the triple option could dominate football at the highest level. This would’ve been a fascinating alternate universe.
Of course, there has to be the obligatory Notre Dame alum on this list. Tom Clements was Aaron Rodgers’ QB coach with the Packers and has yet to get a head coaching job anywhere. While there was no chance Swarbrick was going to hire an unproven head coach, does anyone doubt that Clements would’ve come running if offered the job?
Edsall, oh boy we really dodged a bullet there. There’s no doubt that he was an effective steward for UConn’s program after Skip Holtz laid a solid foundation, but Edsall never proved to be anything more than an average coach in the Big East. His Maryland tenure was a disaster, and his return to Storrs has been a cataclysm of epic proportions.
Just imagine their positions swapped.
The scariest thing about Edsall is that he appeared to be the backup option if Kelly didn’t come to South Bend. There were multiple credible reports that tied him to the opening and mutual interest in these conversations. With the benefit of hindsight, Edsall at Notre Dame might have been the end of the program as we know it.
The “The Guy” Tier
Brian Kelly
The accolades were well known to us even before he was hired. Three national titles at Grand Valley State, took Central Michigan to a MAC title in his third year, and then an insane three-year run at Cincinnati. Swarbrick proudly stated that Kelly was the only candidate he offered the job and I’m inclined to believe him.
The Timeline
In contrast to the public wooing of Urban Meyer in 2004, Swarbrick conducted a mostly private and guarded coaching search with the help of a firm. The added security led to a professional process that produced a good hire, unlike some other places.
November 30: Charlie Weis fired and Rob Ianello is named interim head coach.
December 2: Brian Kelly and (allegedly) Kirk Ferentz meet with Notre Dame officials in an “informational meeting.”
December 5: Cincinnati beats Pitt 45-44 in one of the greatest college football games you will ever see. In lieu of an Irish game, treat yourself to the full watch of this game. Texas later beats Nebraska to ensure that Cincinnati is left out of the BCS title game.
December 7: Kelly officially interviews with Notre Dame. Also this tweet is kind of incredible, could you imagine a coach putting out something like this in today’s media environment?
Just informed our team that Notre Dame has contacted me and I will listen to what they have to say.
— Brian Kelly (@CoachBrianKelly) December 7, 2009
December 9: Kelly lets it be known that he’s still talking to UC about a a contract extension. This is when Joe Schad reports that Notre Dame and Randy Edsall have mutual interest in each other. Later reports come out that Kelly told UC’s players he would be leaving.
December 10: After a 10-day coaching search, Notre Dame officially announces Brian Kelly will be the next head football coach. Cincinnati is understandably angry.
December 11: Kelly is introduced at his first press conference.
An Immediate Upgrade
After sporting the #3 SP+ offense in the country, the Irish somehow managed to upgrade to a coach who oversaw the #1 offense at Cincinnati. More importantly, Kelly would come to Notre Dame with a career .747 winning percentage in college football at three different programs. Compare this hire to promoting a first timer from within, hiring a .543 Stanford coach, and then an NFL coordinator.
I tried to think of other non-P5 coaches who were considered “can’t miss” prospects for blue-blood or big-time jobs over the last decade. Some of these names have even been connected to the ND job at some point!
- Tom Herman: National title-winning OC and 22-4 at Houston, but just 24-15 at Texas.
- Willie Taggart: Jumped to Oregon and then FSU after a 19-7 run at USF. Now unemployed.
- Charlie Strong: National title-winning DC and 37-15 at Louisville. Fired after three years at both Texas and USF.
- James Franklin: Briefly raised Vanderbilt’s ceiling and enjoying a successful run at Penn State.
- Dave Doeren: 23-4 at NIU and now on the hot seat at NC State with a 47-42 record.
- Scott Frost: 19-7 at UCF, just 9-15 at his Alma mater of Nebraska.
- Gus Malzahn: National title-winning OC and 9-3 at Arkansas State. Continues to DGT at Auburn.
- Kevin Sumlin: 35-17 at Houston, but just 40-35 as a head coach after a hot start at A&M.
- Chris Petersen: 92-12 at BSU and stepped down from Washington this week after a solid run.
- Justin Fuente: Resurrected Memphis, but has had an uneven career at Virginia Tech.
Of these names, only about three or four can be considered undeniable successes while the rest are either fired or the jury is still out. Judging from this list, it sure looks like ND could’ve done a lot worse over the years.
(Mostly) Nailed It
Ten years later, and Kelly is still entrenched in South Bend. He has led a tumultuous, but mostly successful program which has twice played for a national title in the 2010s. It’s hard to imagine Swarbrick doing any better in the 2009 coaching search considering how other blue-bloods have botched the process.
Based on pure resume, Brian Kelly was one of the best hires of the last decade in college football. Notre Dame hired a head coach who was 34-6 in a power conference and had won multiple national titles. Unless you’re a member of the ‘small-timey’ crowd, it’s hard to find a more impressive candidate, especially one who would take over the mess in South Bend.
After a decade, that notion still rings true. The only thing missing from Kelly’s legacy is a championship and he still has time to accomplish that. It’s a far cry from the days of consistent .500 football and irrational excitement over a #23 preseason ranking. While far from perfect, the Kelly era has proven to be a return to form for Notre Dame football. Just try not to think that it could’ve been Randy Edsall.
Great look back. My tiers at the time were fairly similar, had to run from the library writing a term paper to write this up the day of Weis getting canned. https://ndsmcobserver.com/2009/12/potential-replacements-who-will-be-next-in-line-at-notre-dame/
I also wrote a column where after Stoops wasn’t happening that they absolutely needed to hire BK or it would be a bust of a search. Have that one saved somewhere but can’t find it online, but was hoping to one day have it framed next to a national championship cover. If that doesn’t go down maybe I’ll just try to track down one from 12-0 in 2012 or 2018 🙂
I remember that Kelly tweet, as well as his “anyone know a good deli in NYC” one that was a bit of a running gag for ND sites for a while. I feverishly parsed Stoops statements, Schefter tweets and all sorts of other articles during that search. We’ve been fortunate not to have to go through that dance in a while.
Ah forgot about the deli tweet, and I maintain coaching searches are only exciting if you actually get the guy you want. I hope we don’t have to go through one again.
That picture…ND has AGED Kelly. It’s like pictures of Obama pre- and post-presidency.
Thanks again for this trip down one of the more painful years I can remember. I didn’t see the point at first, but this has been really well done.
I was thinking that exact same thing about how the ND job sure will age a man in a trivial manner but similar to how the Presidents look before and after office. Sure it’s been a decade, but my goodness.
Also, I echo thanks for this feature all season! It’s been an interesting trip down memory lane.
Thanks! I’m reminded of a side-by-side picture Eric did for the NC State review in 2016.
Oh man.
To be fair, anyone is going to look visibly aged going from 48 to 58.
Frankly, I’m impressed that he’s not dead after 10 years of *this* (/gestures wildly in general direction of internet & social media).
Didn’t know where to post this, but RIP Atkinson brothers. So sad.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/raiders/article/Former-Raiders-player-George-Atkinson-III-dead-at-14879020.php
Don’t forget Matt Rhule (Temple) and P.J. Fleck (Western Michigan) on your list of can’t-miss non-P5 coaches.
Good point, I was trying to avoid recency bias but those were two big omissions.
This was a fantastic series by the way. That was my senior year. It left me thinking “how can we be this awesome and this terrible at the same time?”
Starting off well despite the loss at Michigan had us all looking at the rest of the schedule thinking “we’ve got to be the favorites in the rest of these. Could we run the table from here on out?” And then comes the just embarrassing collapse.
I remember watching the Stanford game in a bar over thanksgiving. The season in a nutshell: spectacular, hope-inspiring offense and then finding a way to lose all the same.
My God, I forgot that Randy Edsall was the “2nd choice”.
When it was happening, I do remember dreading the possibility of Edsall. Thank God I never had to live through that. We might have turned into an Ivy League school in terms of athletics.