Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 NOV. 21, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED L ongtime advice columnist Ann Landers many years ago fa- mously declared that in an un- fulfilling or worse marriage, one question must be asked when pon- dering a divorce: "Are you better off with him, or without him?" That's a question many have asked in the marriage between seventh-year head coach Brian Kelly and Notre Dame after the football team fell to 3-6, with not one loss coming to a cur- rently ranked team. It's literally "the seven-year itch" in his seventh season. From the outside looking in, it might seem like one of those mar- riages where the couple is "stuck" with each other in an effort to help out the kids, or there is "nobody better" lined up for him or her. Plus, there was a "renewal of vows" last January with a six-year contract extension to Kelly. Thus, it's not worth the hassles with finances, custody issues and es- pecially dealing with the fear of the unknown should there be a break. So as unfulfilling as it might seem now — cue B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" masterpiece— there is also a reflection that all relationships have their storms that must be dealt with by rational, mature adults. There is even hope that it can eventually be recti- fied through counseling or other soul- searching, Come-To-Jesus moments. Yet at what point do irreconcilable differences or a clean break to get a fresh start come into the equation? The 38-35 loss at home to Duke Sept. 24 prompted divorce from third-year defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder after internal (and external) perspective deemed that the operation was better off without him. Now, such attention turns toward Kelly. How deep a hole can Kelly and the staff dig itself out of in 2016 and beyond to regain credibility? Optimists and pessimists have different outlooks on whether the Kelly/Notre Dame marriage is salvageable or on the rocks. On one hand, don't forget or take for granted that Kelly twice in the four years from 2012-15 had the Irish in contention for a national title en- tering the final week of the regular season. No one else here had come close to doing that in the 18 years prior, from 1994-2011. In those four years, the only other Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to play in a national title game and a Big Six bowl in separate years were Alabama's Nick Saban, Ohio State's Urban Meyer, Florida State's Jimbo Fisher and Clemson's Dabo Swinney. Not bad company. Be thankful for who you have and count your blessings. On the other side, Kelly's 15-14 re- cord in his last 29 games (prior to Army this past week) matched Char- lie Weis' last 29 games from 2007-09 (and nearly Ty Willingham's 14-15 in his last 29 from 2002-04). Is that good enough? Has he flat- tened out and is just an 8-4 coach in sum at Notre Dame? Think about this hard: Who would be a better fit in a new marriage? Washington's Chris Petersen, TCU's Gary Patterson, Utah's Kyle Whittingham or Stanford's David Shaw? They are in their idyllic marriages now. Petersen has been in the West Coast all his life. Patterson has been at TCU since 1998. Whittingham, a Mormon, has been at Utah since 1994. Shaw is at his alma mater in the majestic Bay Area. It's not about money. All top coaches have wonderful income. It's about a lifestyle and being in your happy place in a terrific union. Mike Gundy? Supposedly he is at a less happy place at alma mater Oklahoma State with the immensely wealthy T. Boone Pickens … but I couldn't envision the Notre Dame brass being happy with the Cowboys getting penalized by the NCAA for falling below the Academic Progress Rate threshold. Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald? An overachiever, but he too is at his alma mater — as is Paul Chryst at Wiscon- sin — and purportedly has no inter- est in Notre Dame. Dan Mullen and Mike MacIntyre? Nice work overall at Mississippi State and Colorado, respectively, but would they generate a buzz that Kelly did coming in as the National Coach of the Year in December 2009? Some top Mid-American Confer- ence coaches like Western Michigan's P.J. Fleck? That would be an immense step up, and there is no worse spot for on-the-job training (beyond just the football field) than at Notre Dame. A top assistant? Another major roll of the dice. A good friend of mine made a dif- ferent analogy about Kelly's situa- tion, stating it's similar to someone on death row with a court-ordered delay (much like VanGorder in 2015). For now, and for better or worse, all Notre Dame/Kelly can do is to try to continue to make it work ... unless the thrill really is gone from both sides. ✦ A Marriage In Need Of Major Counseling THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Head coach Brian Kelly and the Notre Dame team have had enough setbacks in 2016 to naturally ques- tion if the overall union is working. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND