Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2019 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 39 BY LOU SOMOGYI A 10-year anniversary is traditionally celebrated with tin to represent flex- ibility and durability. To 10th-year Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly — who will celebrate his 25-year anniversary with his wife, Paqui, on a two-week family trip to Ireland and Scotland this July — it has felt more like gold of late. Following his second 12-0 regular sea- son at Notre Dame — and third over the past 10 seasons overall (Cincinnati in 2009) — Kelly entered rare coaching air that will result in enshrinement into the College Foot- ball Hall of Fame some day. The flexibility and durability had to take hold after the stunning 4-8 implosion in 2016 that ostensibly seemed to signal that the Kelly era at Notre Dame had flatlined. Rejuvenation occurred with a 22-4 record the past two seasons, plus a College Football Playoff berth last year, to rank in the top five among 65 Power Five teams in college football. Although the ultimate fulfillment of a na- tional title with the Fighting Irish has not been achieved, the powerful shift of mo- mentum within the overall operation has left him more invigorated than dispirited and daunted. Not only is Kelly planning to fulfill the remaining three years of his contract through the 2021 season, but conversations have be- gun with director of athletics Jack Swarbrick about taking it a little farther. For now, the plan centers on staying at least five years, mainly because the youngest of Kelly's three children, Kenzel, is entering his senior year at St. Joseph's High School. The Irish head coach wants to see all of his kids graduate college before pondering his next move. "Jack and I have talked about it, and I told him that I'd like to continue on past the three years," Kelly confirmed this June to Blue & Gold Illustrated. "We're going to get some- thing worked out that keeps me here longer than three years. "That's my mindset right now. But if in five years we have an incredible run and I think the program is in great shape, we'll re- assess it then. We're in a really good position right now. and we'll go from there." Especially important to Kelly is that two- time breast cancer survivor Paqui shares those dreams, especially with the way the Kelly Cares Foundation has raised more than $5 million to aid local and national causes, with an emphasis on aiding cancer victims and their families. "There are a lot of needs out there," she said at the annual Kelly Cares Invitational charity golf tournament June 3 at Bridgman, Mich., which raised $300,000 and included $10,000 checks to the Lou Holtz Charitable Foundation that promotes education, religion and charity, and the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Fund. "We're going to continue to work to make a difference." Five more years would not only eclipse the 11 seasons that coaching legends Parseghian (1964-74), Holtz (1986-96) and Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946-53) served at Notre Dame, but also the standard of 13 (1918-30) set by Knute Rockne prior to his premature death in a plane crash in 1931. In fact, the Kellys just bought land three houses away from the former Rockne home in South Bend. After nine years of what has been a roller-coaster ride, Kelly believes the return investments should continue to grow because the past two seasons have given him a rebirth of sorts. "I feel great," Kelly said. "My health is good, and my energy is good. I'm excited. I've got a great staff and support staff. I really like the work we have done to put ourselves in this position. "Recruiting is going very well, and there are other things on the horizon that are going to continue to grow the program in the man- ner that we need to." On The Horizon When Kelly turns 58 on Oct. 25, the eve of this year's Michigan game in Ann Ar- bor, only Holtz — who was 59 when he stepped down — will have been an older head coaching figure on the Notre Dame sideline. Just in case any recruits or families inquire about his future status, Kelly has his reply rehearsed. "I'd say, 'I'm the best bet on the board in Vegas to be there to see your son grad- uate,'" he said without hesitance. "I love Notre Dame, and I'm not going anywhere. I have vetted out the NFL. It's not where I want to go." When Kelly started at Notre Dame in 2010, he said the office staff was comprised of 18 people. Today it is up to 57, although not all are full-time employees and there are numerous interns. Recently, six more were added to strength and conditioning, four to nutrition and three apiece as analysts in the recruiting office. Such sheer volume has allowed him to con- tinue to focus on his most important resource — the student-athletes on the team. "It has a lot to do with me being in a good spot in understanding the job and what is im- portant to make this work really well," Kelly Kelly and director of athletics Jack Swarbrick are in discussions to extend his current contract, which expires in 2021. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL