Notre Dame Football 2012: Brian Kelly's Extension and Notre Dame's Future

What does Brian Kelly's contract extension mean for the Irish?

This seems like another case of the Charlie Weises: Brian Kelly has not achieved any landmark victories aside from a win at USC, yet Jack Swarbrick has deemed that enough to give the second-year coach another two years on his five-year contract. So what are the implications of this extension? Let’s break it down:

First, it gives Kelly more power over the program, if that is even possible. Since he has at least five years left in South Bend, he can build a bigger recruiting base, not only for players, but for any coaches which may leave. This will improve the quality of the coaching staff and incoming recruits, because Notre Dame will become further entrenched in powerhouse regions like Florida, California, and Texas with the skill of Kelly’s recruiting, as evidenced by his ability to snare 5-stars like Aaron Lynch and Tee Shepard.

Second, the extension increases his accountability to fans, alumni and the administration. All his players will become his own, and any poor play or off-field mishaps will fall directly on Kelly’s shoulders. Off the field, the coach has shown he can handle bad episodes like Michael Floyd’s by instituting discipline in players’ lives.

As for game-day issues, however, he has the propensity to create lots of turmoil. A few examples are the well-documented spats involving his comments about Weis’s players and his purple rages against South Florida. It remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to control any undesirable comments, but everything irate seems to be business as usual within the program.

Most importantly, however, is what happens to the program if Kelly washes out a couple of years hence. Like Weis, Notre Dame could be stuck paying a mediocre coach a very large salary for him to sit on his couch.

In addition, if Kelly does not achieve the necessary results, the entire program could be stuck in the mire of mediocrity. Relegation to the outskirts of the college football landscape is exactly the opposite of the sport’s most storied and traditional program, but that would be exactly what awaits if the Irish choose the same path as they did with Weis.

Kelly should be a good fit for the Irish going forward because he has won everywhere he has coached, but Notre Dame is nothing like Cincinnati or Grand Valley State. The bottom line is that while Kelly is a good coach, Notre Dame fans should be wary of a contract extension after what happened during the Weis era. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice…