Why Brian Kelly's Extension Is Just the Thing Notre Dame Needs for NSD

Notre Dame hasn't fulfilled expectations for several years as it has appeared they are slowly falling off the football map. Once one of the elite programs in college football, the Irish are struggling to regain their elite status.

This program has only had one double-digit winning season since 2002 and hasn't won back-to-back bowl games since 1992-1993. This season was one of the most disappointing years in recent memory as the team started with BCS Bowl dreams. They ended up finishing the year with an 8-5 record and lost in the Champs Sports Bowl to Florida State.

One thing that has kept Notre Dame relevant through these tough times, besides its rich history, is solid recruiting classes. Although Notre Dame has struggled to win ball games, it's not because of a lack of talent.

Resigning Brian Kelly to an extension will only help the recruiting classes moving forward. Notre Dame added two years to Kelly's contract, which keeps him with the program through 2016.

Kelly became the head coach of the Irish in 2010 after doing a fabulous job with the Cincinnati Bearcats. In two seasons he is 16-10 and 1-1 in bowl games. His teams have suffered from a massive case of the turnovers his first two seasons as head coach. That's really the main reason for the mediocre success so far.

Many will argue that Kelly hasn't earned an extension quite yet, and if anything, he should be on the hot seat considering he hasn't done anything. They'd probably be right, but when you look at the recruiting process, the Irish need stability to keep their top players and eventually land more.

With top prospects knowing that Kelly will be the head coach for a while at Notre Dame, they won't be so hesitant on committing to Notre Dame. The Irish already lost the top cornerback in this year's class in Ronald Darby, and they would like to make sure no other players leave.

Kelly may not have deserved an extension, but it was the right thing to do to get the Irish back on track.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]