Brian Kelly Comments on Sideline Altercation with Assistant Coach David Grimes

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly apologized Tuesday following his physical confrontation with David Grimes, the team's assistant strength and conditioning coach, during the Fighting Irish's 24-20 win over Temple on Saturday.

"I wish the situation never occurred," Kelly said, per JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago. "I regret that it happened. David and I have met. We have met about the situation. We've moved past it."

Kelly pushed Grimes away from a referee as he was discussing a penalty that had just been called:

"I'm responsible for the sideline. Our sideline was not where it needed to be," Kelly said, per Stankevitz. "There were some things going on on the sideline that were unacceptable. It falls on my shoulders. If we were to get a penalty in that time of the game, it would have fell on me as being somebody that can't control the sideline."     

Kelly is known for his fiery temper on the sideline, and ESPN's Bomani Jones wondered if it's time to change that:

Bleacher Report's Bryan Fischer also believed Kelly's actions over the weekend were unacceptable:

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That's what rankled me Saturday and has ever since. This isn't the first time we've seen Kelly screaming and yelling and turning a shade of red reminiscent of a tomato. In fact, there's been an incident similar to Saturday's nearly every other year during Kelly's tenure in South Bend and even the seasons before.

[...] Kelly's role as head coach of a program like Notre Dame means he knows exactly what to say nearly every time, but it's pretty apparent that, at times, he gets a little heated and doesn't say it in the right manner.

The concerning thing is that's always been the case, and he has lost his cool on the sidelines repeatedly. At some point, we need to realize these aren't isolated incidents, but a trend.

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There's nothing wrong with showing passion on the sideline, and with that passion will sometimes come anger. Especially given the stakes of every game at a program like Notre Dame, it's only natural for a head coach like Kelly to become agitated when things aren't going according to plan.

But a head coach putting his hands on an assistant or player is inappropriate when it comes in the manner of Kelly's interaction with Grimes.