Notre Dame Football: Desperate Irish Deserve Time To Get Things Together

Brian Kelly has lost seven football games as the head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The average margin of loss in those seven games is eight points, but five of them were decided by less than four points.

Plain and simple, this football team is close, but can't seem to finish. This doesn't go over well in South Bend; losing never does.

But the Irish catch more criticism than nearly any team in the country. Granted, the nationwide Irish faithful bring a ton of expectation to every season regardless of talent level, but Brian Kelly and this team deserve a bit of time.

It took the coach two years to turn things around at Central Michigan after winning back-to-back Division II titles at Grand Valley State.

He then stepped into a good situation at Cincinnati and won back-to-back Big East Championships with the Bearcats after a good first season.

Now, in his second year at Notre Dame, he deserves some time to make things happen.

The South Florida and Michigan games could just have easily been thrilling victories as heartbreaking losses.

The preseason ranking, which we all know can be wild at times, means little at this point.

Kelly is a legitimate program man. There is not another school in this country that he'd want to leave South Bend for.

For better or worse, he's the best option for the Irish and deserves a chance. It is only his second year on campus and he's barely had time to bring in his own recruits. The 49-year-old is tasked with not only winning football games, but also changing the culture of a program that hasn't lived up to expectations since 2006.

This week the Irish will host Michigan State, a team they've had some classic battles with in recent seasons.

This game could easily be between two top 15 teams had the ball bounced Notre Dame's way in those first two games.

There is no excuse for losing to South Florida at home. It was an upset that should never have happened, but panicking is premature and unjust.

Kelly has proven to be a successful coach everywhere he has gone. Notre Dame, obviously one of the biggest stages in college football, is a daunting task for anyone.

This program has the guy they need in place and deserves a little bit of time before we can expect to see the Irish in contention for the national championship. 

Losing won't be tolerated for long, but all good things take time.