Notre Dame Football's Brian Kelly Obviously the Right Man for the Job

Notre Dame's Brian Kelly has been surrounded by adversity, lately, but the fact that the Irish came out and dominated Navy so thoroughly after a week of turmoil shows that Brian Kelly is the right man for the job.  It's difficult to have patience while he puts the finishing touches on becoming Notre Dame's next great coach, but Kelly most certainly has the foundation to get this Irish football team back on top of college football.

No week has been fraught with greater contrast in recent memory than the week between the USC loss and Navy victory.  First, it was USC telling the media that Notre Dame quit on them:

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"At the end there, when they didn't call those timeouts, they just quit," USC linebacker Chris Galippo said Saturday. "And that's what Notre Dame football's about. They're not anything like USC."

-ESPN.com

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By the end of the week, however, it was Navy's coach Ken Niumatalolo talking about Notre Dame's great effort on the field:

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"They whipped our butts today," Niumatalolo said. "I'm not going to make any excuses. That's my 14th time playing Notre Dame, and that's the most full butt-whipping that stutters me. ... They came prepared and focused and they got after us in all three phases. They got after us offensively, defensively and special teams. Just a total butt-whipping."

WSBT.com

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Like his 2011 Notre Dame team, Brian Kelly is a work in progress.  He has the skills to be the next great coach of the Irish.  His resume includes two national championships and a 41-2 record in his final three seasons at Division II Grand Valley State.  He turned a very bad Central Michigan program into a bowl participant in three years.  Then, at Cincinnati he led the Bearcats to an undefeated regular season and a Sugar Bowl berth against Florida.

Unfortunately, it's unlikely that Kelly has ever had to deal with the intense pressure of a program like Notre Dame who is beholden not only to its fans, but also to Adidas and a permanent media spotlight, all of whom fight for access to Notre Dame football's brand name.

Kelly is passionate and has a lot of fire, which has revealed itself on the sidelines and in the media.  But, if anything has proven that Kelly is still learning, it's this past week's comments about his upperclassmen:

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“You can see the players I recruited here, you know who they are. We’ve had one recruiting class here that I’ve had my hand on. The other guys here are coming along, but it’s a process.”

-Brian Kelly

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Divisive?  Possibly.  A result of the pressure of being Notre Dame's head coach after a loss to USC?  Likely.  One thing that is certain, however - the Irish were ready to play on Saturday.  Whatever Kelly did, it worked.  Whether it was his comments to the media or his apology to his players, Brian Kelly's team played its best game in two years on Saturday.

To compare Kelly's career to that of a predecessor may help the doubter understand where the Irish stand, so far. 

Lou Holtz had a very similar run to Kelly's before taking over the Irish.  His first job as head coach began at Division II William & Mary before moving into the Division I ranks where he led NC State, Arkansas, and Minnesota to bowl games before taking over the Irish.

In 1986, Lou Holtz matched Notre Dame's performance in 1985 with a 5-6 record, ending the season by defeating USC in a thrilling fourth quarter comeback.  Sound slightly familiar?

In his next season, Holtz underachieved, once more, though he improved to an 8-4 record with the Irish. It wasn't until his third season that Holtz found the recipe for success at Notre Dame.

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"In 1986, people were saying Notre Dame would never win, again.  We had a group of guys who wanted to win, but didn't know how.  Then, we progressed to point where we had a group of guys who wanted to win, knew how to win...  Then, we progressed to a point where we had a group of guys who knew how to win but sometimes we don't always exhibit it.  That's a thing of the past."

-Lou Holtz

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If any discussion embodies Kelly's first two years, so far, it's the one given above to an attentive locker room of players. 

First, Kelly had to break the losing mentality he inherited.  Now, he has a team that knows it can win, but it finds ways to lose.  Once Kelly finds a way to refine the rough edges of his Fighting Irish program, he'll have the Irish reliving its glory days.

Kelly has enough fire for every man on his team.  He knows how to build successful programs.  He's also doing well in recruiting.  The Irish aren't losing anything with Kelly leading the charge.  In fact, they're gaining a program builder and a coach who can inspire.

Yes, he's still learning.  Yes, he wants to make changes that may not sit well with traditionalists.  However, Kelly is learning as much about Notre Dame as he's teaching it. 

If he can fix the problems that have plagued this 2011 football team and end with a victory over Stanford, will Kelly's third season be remembered like Holtz's - forever written in Irish lore?