Notre Dame Football: How Many Irish Wins Equals Brian Kelly Saving His Job?

When Brian Kelly first signed on to be the head coach of Notre Dame, I hope he realized that Notre Dame fans get awful cranky when things aren’t going right, because if he didn’t know that then, he certainly knows that now.

Kelly felt the scorn of the Fighting Irish faithful and the wrath of the college football world when his team started off the season 0-2.

After hearing all summer long about how this team was going to make a big move up the college football food chain this season, everyone was ready to rip Kelly when the Irish faltered.

That’s what happens when you’re promised a coaching savior, who is supposed to be an offensive genius, and the results don’t match the hype.

Now the Irish have rebounded with two consecutive victories over Michigan State and Pittsburgh to pull themselves together at 2-2, but the pressure will still be on from here on out.

Even though it’s a little ridiculous to start calling for Kelly’s head one month into his second season, that hasn’t stopped some from putting him on the mythical coaching hot seat.

So what does Kelly have to do to make sure he solidifies his job security and stays in South Bend past this season?

Well, it starts with today’s game against in-state little brother Purdue.

Notre Dame needs to start piling up victories to earn back the respect they lost with the two early losses and the Irish simply can’t afford another letdown.

A loss to Purdue would only further diminish Kelly’s credibility with Notre Dame fans.

If the Irish can beat up on the Boilermakers and move to 3-2, it will set them up to be in good shape for the stretch run of the season.

With teams like Air Force, USC, Navy and Stanford all waiting around the corner, the Irish won’t be able to just waltz through the rest of their schedule.

People have come to terms with the fact that Notre Dame probably isn’t going to pile up double-digit wins and roll to a BCS game this year. That’s just the reality.

Even so, Kelly still has the opportunity to get things moving back in the right direction if he can get his team to cut down on the turnovers and stop letting opposing offenses throw the ball all over the field.

Notre Dame shouldn’t have a problem getting to seven or eight wins this season and that’s probably what it’s going to take for critics to get off of Kelly’s back.

Nobody in South Bend is going to throw Brian Kelly a parade if the the Irish finish 8-4 and then win a mediocre bowl game, but it will at least help him calm some of the storm that’s been building since the loss to South Florida in Week 1.