Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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You also have to look at who would be available and if realistically you believe he can be better than Kelly, a two-time National Coach of the Year in four seasons with teams that had been struggling. For worse or for better, Notre Dame and Kelly are expected to remain to- gether. It is for the sake of some sta- bility for the youngsters on the home front, and a dream that something resembling 2012, with a better final outcome, can be repeated. It comes down to whether Kelly has reached his plateau or if his best days as the Irish head coach are still ahead of him. Much more has to be shown in 2015 — preferably at least a double- digit win total — to demonstrate that he has not yet reached his ceiling. ✦ When Good Is Not Good Enough Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is at a form of football no-man's land, comparable to head coach Earle Bruce at Ohio State from 1979-87. Bruce be- came derisively referred to by Buckeyes faithful as "ol' 9-3 Earle." Like Kelly, Bruce experienced a magical 11-0 sea- son with the Buckeyes before losing the national title in the bowl game. Then for seven straight seasons his OSU teams lost three games, before he was fired for a 6-4-1 ledger in his final season. The Notre Dame comparison might be more to- ward Dan Devine — although Devine had a much more difficult task from 1975-80 while replacing Ara Parseghian, whereas Kelly has more leeway because of the school's long drought. Devine also had more difficult schedules. • Devine was eviscerated for back-to-back 8-3 regular seasons and no major bowl his first two seasons. Kelly was 8-5 his first two years. • Devine was accepted a little better but grudgingly after the 11-1 third season in 1977 that produced a national title, but critics maintained it was "with Parseghian recruits." Kelly was 12-1 his third season to gain acclaim, but his loss was in the title game. • The grumblings recurred with 8-3 and 7-4 regular seasons in 1978 and 1979 under Devine that were "two plays away" from 6-5 or 5-6 outcomes. Likewise, 8-4 and 7-5 regular seasons with Kelly in 2013 and 2014 have elicited more angst. Prior to his sixth season in 1980, Devine bowed out with some reluctance. Elmer Layden (1934-40) had a .770 winning percentage that actually is better than both Devine (.764) and Lou Holtz (.765). Like Kelly, he was No. 1 and one win from a national title before losing to USC (13-0) in the 1938 finale. Otherwise, too many 6-3 and 7-2 finishes and "he's no Rockne" criticisms motivated him to move to the NFL, where he became the commissioner, after the 1940 season. — Lou Somogyi Dan Devine's Irish career from 1975-80 played out similarly to how Brian Kelly's has unfolded thus far. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS