Brian Kelly Sends A Bad Message Coming to Notre Dame

I don't care how good a coach Brian Kelly is or if Notre Dame made the right decision in hiring him, I'm not going into a critique of his strengths and weaknesses.

My issue is why he is leaving the team he coached the entire year and led to the Sugar Bowl, but is allowed to leave and not be there with them for that final game.

In what way is this right? Does anybody care about the kids? Is it only about the money?

Shouldn't the timing for hiring coaches be after the team is done playing their entire schedule including any bowl games?

Are the student-athletes required to dedicate themselves to the team not only during the football season, but also with practices whenever the coach deems them necessary in preparation for the upcoming season?

Isn't there total focus on the football team even at the expense of their school work?

If the answer to these questions is yes and they have to be available to play in this game no matter what other circumstances come up for them, shouldn't the coach and leader of the team be asked to be held to the same standards?

The NCAA is a stickler with rules regarding players and what they can and generally can't do. A coach can't even buy a player lunch; it's against the rules. There are all kinds of strange and bizarre rules regarding eligibility and what makes you ineligible.

A player can't change schools without having to sit out a season before being eligible to play for his new school.

A coach is under contract, often a long term contract, but he can break it at his whim and go elsewhere without any penalty, then he's ready to coach the next day.

Why even bother with contracts when they're made to be broken? If a coach is successful and some other team comes sniffing around, he can either hijack his own school for obscene amounts of money to stay, or he can leave them high and dry searching for a new leader.

These are the rules as they are interpreted by the NCAA. There is nothing keeping them at the place where they gave their word and signed a contract to coach.

Cincinnati players were obviously upset at the news that their coach was abandoning them before the biggest game of the year against Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

Does a father help pay for and plan a wedding for his daughter and then leave before walking her down the aisle?

Of course not! It's not done because it's not the right thing to do.

Neither is leaving a team before it's final game, especially a Bowl game to culminate an undefeated season.