Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 AUGUST 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 3. FACILITATING GROWTH/ INFRASTRUCTURE For most of the four seasons from 2014-18, there were only a handful of men's and women's basketball programs that rivaled Notre Dame's combination under head coaches Mike Brey and Muffet McGraw. Making it more amazing was the Fighting Irish lagged severely be- hind the top programs when it came to having its own facility and space for basketball alone. That changed this fall with the opening of the long- awaited and spacious, state-of-the- art Rolfs Athletics Hall — although the women opted to not move in un- til after the season while remaining comfortable in their old surround- ings. "It's almost like taking a new coaching job being in here now," Brey said while going through a tour with the media in the facility this spring. "The league we signed up for six years ago [the ACC] has got all the ammunition — we're there with them now, there's no question." "We started talking about it in 2000 — and 18 [or 19] years later here we are," a beaming McGraw said. "I think [the players] were kind of over- whelmed initially." Meanwhile, to help maximize ef- ficiency for the football program, the Irish Indoor Athletics Center was nearing completion this summer (see more on this topic on page 62). 4. FIVE MORE YEARS? Prior to the start of the 2017 football season, Notre Dame's Brian Kelly and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin were rated by CBS Sports national writer Dennis Dodd as the two college head coaches on the hottest seats. Sumlin was indeed fired after the season (and is now at Arizona), but following the 4-8 debacle in 2016, Kelly has steered the Irish to a 22-4 ledger the past two years, winning the 2018 Citrus Bowl and advancing to the four-team CFP last year. Significantly re-energized by the recent success on the field, along the recruiting trail and by a strong support staff that now has 57 people (he had 18 when he started at Notre Dame in 2010), Kelly just now seems to be hitting his stride in year 10 as opposed to burning out from the stresses of the job. His current contract runs through the 2021 season, but now he and di- rector of athletics Jack Swarbrick are eagerly looking to extend his time and potentially reap more fruits from their labors. "We're going to get something worked out that keeps me here lon- ger than three years," Kelly told Blue & Gold Illustrated in its 2019 Football Preview. "That's my mindset right now. But if in five years we have an incredible run and I think the pro- gram is in great shape, we'll reassess it then. "We're in a really good position right now, and we'll go from there." Who would have thought it two years ago at this time? 5. EARLY RECRUITING SUCCESS While Notre Dame's recruiting re- mained in the 10-15 range nationally this season as it has overall the past five cycles, the roster management, balance and development are what have encouraged Kelly to possibly eclipse the unofficial "11-year term limit" of past Irish head coaches. In the trenches and most every- where else, the staff believes it can match up with anyone in the country. Where it has been "a player here or there" short has been at the skill posi- tions on offense. This spring/summer it might have answered those needs with 2020 pledges from five-star wideout Jor- dan Johnson of St. Louis De Smet and the nation's top-ranked, and fastest, all-purpose back in Chris Tyree of Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale. If down-the-road figures such as Johnson and Tyree, among others, can have the type of early impact on the offense like freshmen such as Raghib "Rocket" Ismail and Derek Brown did for the 1988 national champs, then Notre Dame might have a better chance of entering first- tier status from its current top-10 standing. Meanwhile, it also already has re- ceived five verbal pledges — all four- stars — for the 2021 group. 6. MAKING HER VOICE HEARD For a good portion of the 2018-19 basketball season, head coach Muffet McGraw's veteran and reigning na- tional champs were in a "wake us for the NCAA Tournament" mode. That led to some flatness and even Veteran men's basketball coach Mike Brey knew his team's facility didn't match up with ACC rivals until the Rolfs Athletics Hall opened this fall. "We're there with them now, there's no question," he said after completion. PHOTO COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA Muffet McGraw doubled down the week of the national championship game and reiterated that she would never hire another male assistant coach. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND