Notre Dame Football: Is Brian Kelly Overrated or Just Unlucky?

Regardless of the outcome of Notre Dame's game today, the season has thus far been a disappointment.

From the weird weather and implosion in the home-opener against USF, to another absolute flop in the fourth quarter and Brian Kelly's epic meltdown against Michigan, things have not exactly gone as predicted for the Irish.

Much of their fans' ire seems to be focused on Kelly, and their anger seems to be well-directed.

The Irish lead the nation in turnovers. The Irish are also averaging 55.5 yards lost per game due to penalties, bad enough for 73rd in the country.

Is this, or is it not, a result of coaching?

Sure, mistakes are not all the coach's responsibility, but good coaching will help limit them.

So is Kelly the wrong guy for the Irish? Is he a victim of his players' ineptitude, or is he simply overrated?

Irish fans might respond instinctively that he is overrated, but the man's record speaks for itself. He has led several teams to success, including a horrible Cincinnati team that has not enjoyed much success and had a proven winning record under Kelly.

Kelly led the Bearcats to consecutive Big East titles in 2008 and 2009, including an undefeated regular season in 2009 and a BCS appearance. He didn't coach in the BCS game, but was responsible for leading the team through those two seasons.

Before that he was at Central Michigan where, in his second year, he led the Chippewas to their first winning season in seven years. If anybody has a solid track record in coaching college football, it is Kelly.

It's hard to make an argument that he is overrated, but he may be in the wrong place at a bad time. He needs a few years to bring in his recruits, but at a program like Notre Dame, that time is limited.

It is obvious that his unit is struggling. Much of the blame might be thrown at the feet of his coaching staff, but at least some of it is the result of weak execution by Kelly's players.

If the Irish continue to tank and can't turn things around next season, Kelly will be gone.

And it won't be completely his fault.

If that happens, some other school will pick up a great coach who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.