Brian Kelly has been named the new coach at Notre Dame, and now, with the Sugar Bowl approaching, UC Fans are left wondering what will happen next?
I can’t say I’m shock by his decision. Kelly said, years ago, that he would walk to South Bend for that job. Well as someone who’s not only made the trip to South Bend, but also walked the streets of the city doing door to door sales for AT&T, he’s not missing much by driving.
Details of the contract aren’t out yet, but you can bet Notre Dame is giving him quite a raise.
So put yourself in Kelly’s shoes. His dream job opens up with a big payday. He’s had a great thing going at Cincinnati for the past three years, but now has the opportunity to be the savior of the Irish. I don’t think you can blame the guy for taking the job.
However, this is probably the darkest and most unfair element in college football. In the professional sports, teams cannot steal coaches away while they are still under contract. But in college (basketball too), it’s almost common place. There is no respect what-so-ever for the sanctity and commitment from one contract to the next.
This doesn’t make any sense. I can understand that coaches don’t want to wait or miss out on bigger and better opportunities, but deserting the team is just wrong.
And during Bowl Season? C’mon NCAA, this is bullshit. At least in professional sports, coaches and assistants cannot finalize contracts until their current teams’ seasons are over. This allows teams to go through the playoffs, not focusing on what coaches will and will not be back and gives fans a peace of mind.
So why can’t the NCAA at least adopt that? With Kelly now coaching the Irish, the Bearcats are left to their assistants to put together a game plan against the defending national champion, Florida Gators.
And this isn’t the first time this has happened. The last school to win the Big East was West Virginia, whose coach, Rich Rodriguez, was hired by Michigan right before the Fiesta Bowl. While assistant Bill Stewart was able to win the game, and eventually the job, it was Rodriguez that got them there, and it should have been Rodriguez to coach them.
A big question people have been asking has been “Why couldn’t he have waited until after the Sugar Bowl?” Well, the answer is that big programs, like Notre Dame, have a history of getting who they want, when they want. If Kelly had even asked to wait until after the Sugar Bowl, you can bet the Irish response would have been “Thanks, but no thanks.” Kelly would have lost millions and probably the job.
Notre Dame, Brian Kelly, or even the UC Administration are not to blame for this. It’s just a broken system.
