Expectations/Predictions for 2010 Under BK

Bowl games have not yet been played and national signing day for recruits is far off in February (okay not that far, but it will feel like forever once the season is over), but here are some VERY early expectations/predictions/thoughts about the upcoming season for Notre Dame under new Head Coach Brian Kelly:

· Wins are most important to Irish nation, and winning right away is a must for a new head coach in South Bend’s spotlight, but what is realistic to expect next season? Realistically, 8 wins would be a very respectable accomplishment with a new quarterback and head coach, with 7 wins being acceptable and expected. But what does my biased and yet not-so-delusional mind think? I think Notre Dame has 7 winnable games (Purdue, Michigan State, Boston College, Western Michigan, Tulsa, Utah, Army), 2 borderline games (Michigan and Navy), and 3 games that would be upset specials (Stanford, Pittsburgh, USC). Without knowing who is returning for which teams and which young players may step up, I believe Notre Dame will win 8 games. They will lose a game to a team they should not, but they will find victory against Michigan or Navy. My heart tells me that Brian Kelly may even find a way to best Pete Carrol in his first year with the Irish to make a statement, but I must keep from becoming delusional as well.

· I firmly believe that Notre Dame has a much better level of talent amongst young players than UC, and Brian Kelly will find success with them that makes this team competitive in every game.

· Dayne Crist will flourish under Brian Kelly… once he returns from his torn ACL. He has the potential to be a better passer than Tony Pike at Cincinnati, but he must overcome a mental hurdle when he returns to the field in August to get started in the right direction. He has a better arm than Pike and will have a deeper set of targets as well, but missing spring practice will not help the cause. If he can put the mental block that is the Torn ACL out of his mind early on and find a rhythm with his receivers, expect 2500+ yards and 32+ touchdowns.

· If you saw flashes of brilliance from Isaiah Pead playing for Cincinnati, then you can expect similar results from Armando Allen and Theo Riddick. Kelly was able to use Pead very effectively both in the run game and the pass game, and he is a similar athlete to Allen and Riddick in that he is shifty and quick. Expect Allen and Riddick to both be used effectively in the offense, giving defenses more than just one explosive back to worry about.

· Aside from explosive backs, look for Robert Hughes to give Brian Kelly play calling options near the goal line that he did not have in Cincinnati. If Kelly wants to line up in 5-wide sets at the one-yard line, that’s fine, because it worked in Cincinnati. But he will have an established power runner in Hughes to use however he sees fit when a tough yard or two is needed.

· With the depth and talent at wide receiver at Notre Dame, the ball will be successfully thrown around the field no matter who the quarterback may be. With Michael Floyd returning and Duval Kamara working back into the mix this past season, two targets are already expected to find success. John Goodman showed an ability to contribute this past season and there is no reason that talent like Dion Walker and Shaq Evans cannot catch a few passes. Even Roby Toma got on the field, showing that he obviously has something that Brian Kelly will see and probably utilize. And lets not forget Kyle Rudolph, a future NFL talent at tight end. Kelly will find mismatches for the big man who has surprising speed and moves after the catch. If Crist can get healthy and find a rhythm at quarterback a few games into the season, expect Floyd to go over 1,000 yards with 12+ touchdowns and expect two other receivers to go over 600 yards.

· Brian Kelly has shown that he can have a defense just good enough to get the job done even after replacing ten starters. He knows how to leave a defensive unit in capable hands, and look for that to be the case next season. They will be more experienced and should be improved from this past season (probably because it couldn’t have been much worse). They will do enough to keep the offense in striking distance at all times, just like the Bearcat defense did for Kelly.

· Expect a lot of true freshman and younger players on the roster get their shots on the field for the Irish, as Kelly will look to grow alongside them. He will feel comfortable coaching up the young guys that he will see for three or four years as opposed to older players who will be gone sooner into his tenure at ND.

A String of Random Thoughts Amidst A Coaching Change

· UC fans really have no right to criticize Brian Kelly for “leaving for the money” or “taking off before the biggest game of the year.” They would do good to remember that Brian Kelly actually left his job at Central Michigan before their bowl game to bolt for Cincinnati, a bigger school in a bigger conference. Be careful of hypocrisy even when you are sour over losing a great coach.

· UC fans also cannot justify the sudden distaste for Brian Kelly. He came to a program and used another coach’s players to run his own offense. He was a mastermind for the Bearcats who left them in a better position than they were in when he found them. He has put UC on the Big East map, and put the program in the minds of every recruit from Ohio. Even if the recruits choose that school in Columbus, at least now they have a thought it the back of their mind about UC not being so bad. You should respect what he has done for your team, and realize that all may not be lost.

· Notre Dame fans would do good to remember that Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate are gone, and that National Championships are hard to get… Brian Kelly has proven that he is a successful coach no matter who plays for him, but Notre Dame is a whole new animal. Even I, the one warning of a let down, expect success right away, but I think 8 wins are much less than some delusional fans are hoping for. There will be a rebuilding period. Dayne Crist still must return from his ACL injury and even then must learn Brian Kelly’s offense. Michael Floyd must adjust to not getting as many targets, even with Tate gone, because the field will be crowded with receivers in South Bend from now on.

· College football fans in general remember this: the media builds the expectations with the help of a small percentage of overzealous fans, not the reasonable ND fans. I myself was excited by Charlie Weis, but only because he swept me off my feet with his high level of confidence and swagger (that’s a nice way of saying he was a cocky bastard). He was not my first choice, and I did not see him as a savior to Notre Dame. I am not delusional or insanely biased, therefore my expectations are realistic. I am fiercely loyal to the Irish, but I know that Brian Kelly will not win a National Championship right away.

· Final Random Thought: What will become of Jeff Quinn? Will he be a man in line for the UC job, or will he follow Kelly to Notre Dame and continue what has been a very successful coaching relationship? As a Notre Dame fan I can say that since we have Kelly we might as well keep that coaching chemistry intact. But as a UC fan I think he would be a good choice to lead the program. It would be good to test his mettle as a head coach, although it goes against my beliefs of hiring a head coach with no previous experience in that position. If he were to find success as a UC head coach, it would be wonderful for the Bearcats to remain on top of the Big East.

The Tale of a Good Coach Leaving UC... Again (Jumping Ship to a Sinking Boat)

Bearcats fans hold onto your hats. This could get bumpy.

Your team has just claimed its second consecutive outright Big East Championship after a thrilling comeback against a very solid Pittsburgh team.

You are headed to the BCS for the second year in a row.

And you are once again on the verge of losing a good coach.

Lets look at the past few seasons.

Mark Dantonio had moderate success in Cincinnati, which is thought of by most as a stepping-stone, and then bolted for a “bigger” program at Michigan State.

Enter Brian Kelly. In just his third season as head coach, he has accumulated a record of 34-6. He has lead the team to its first perfect season, a 12-0 start, the aforementioned two Big East Championships, and what will be two BCS appearances. Again, let me stress that this is all in THREE seasons.

Dantonio left for a bigger job, and what was his team’s record this year? Oh, I think they were 6-6. Have they won the Big Ten? Nope. Which is the destination program now?

All bashing of former coaches aside, I’ll throw it out there for the Bearcat faithful: it just isn’t fair.

You lost a good coach in the guy sporting Sparty green, and got someone with no big league success. As fate would have it, this guy turned out to be quite legit, delivering success at speeds that the Vikings can’t even drive at. And he is about to be ripped from your program.

I’ll say it again for the people in red and black, because it really is not fair.

Brian Kelly came and finished what Dantonio stated. He took Dantonio’s recruits and used them in a completely new offense. He took a solid foundation and improved it, adding flash to a program with the raw athletes that did not know how good they could be. He has brought in his own athletes and plugged them into his system perfectly, showing that he knows what he’s doing. He has shown that success can be found at the University of Cincinnati on playing surfaces other than hardwood.

He has turned the town into a place where college football is a big deal. A practice facility is on the way, courtesy of his demands. The stadium will be expanded eventually, because he found out how to sell seats through success.

And yet here comes Big Bad Notre Dame. They bring tradition, but no recent success. They look flashy with all the gold on campus (see: football helmets, Golden Dome) and they look like good Catholic people of upstanding morals. They bring an open checkbook. They are greedy in the eyes of UC fans.

UC fans appreciate what Brian Kelly has done. ND fans will forever scrutinize. UC fans support Brian Kelly and wish for him to stay and coach a contender every year. ND fans will support Brian Kelly, but only if he delivers National Championships every three years.

UC is loving, ND is demanding.

I can see how UC fans could question it if BK decides to jump ship to a program already underwater. It would seem like jumping onto the sinking Titanic from a lifeboat, rather than vice versa. But tradition and money carry leverage, and UC is not quite there yet.

Besides, with the way his success rate is looking, Brian Kelly could have salvaged the Titanic himself.

Maybe Notre Dame fans should prepare and find a way to appreciate him, since Cincinnati fans will have to find a way to forget him.

8 Reasons Why Notre Dame and Brian Kelly are a Match Made in Heaven

1. He knows how to sell a program-
Kelly was disappointed with local media's lack of interest in UC football, so he refused to answer the questions of a local freelance reporter. This sparked interest (obviously) and proved just how smart BK is when it comes to making a football program a hot topic.

2. It's his dream job! (According to rumors...)-
Okay, so it's been said about almost every head coach available, but is ND Kelly's dream job? I never found the exact words in any quotes from him, but we could stretch it and say that Notre Dame has all of the things BK wants: an indoor practice facility, more seating capacity in the stadium, etc.

3. ND fans love offense-
Irish fans got spoiled when Brady Quinn and Co. brought their team's passing game to a whole other level. Now they drool just thinking of Jimmy Clausen throwing to Golden Tate and Michael Floyd. Kelly is no stranger to having teams with stellar passing attacks. And hey, offense does sell tickets...

4. BUT DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!-
BK was a defensive coordinator at Grand Valley State before he became the head coach in 1991. He may be an offensive genius now, but he used to call defensive plays for a reason. After last season and a run to the Fed Ex Orange Bowl, BK had to replace 10 defensive starters for this season. Those replacements are all overachievers. He makes good hiring decisions and leaves his 'D' in capable hands. Notre Dame needs a coach like this.

5. He has the perfect personality to survive a job in South Bend-
Notre Dame coaches are some of the most scrutinized and second-guessed coaches in the country... by their own fan base. With great tradition comes great expectations, and Irish nation is demanding. But BK is a man on a mission when he coaches. The "Notre Dame Head Coach Mystique" would not phase him.

6. He has a track record of quick success-
Speaking of Notre Dame coaches being under constant scrutiny, everyone knows that Irish nation is not only demanding, but impatient as well. Again, its not so bad to expect greatness. They want national titles, and they want them NOW. Kelly is a man who is capable of finding success quickly: he took a Central Michigan team with little talent and lead them to a MAC championship in just his third season as head coach.

7. He is an excellent recruiter-
BK takes what is mostly local talent and no true "big name" recruits and still produces good teams. He knows how to spot athletes that can do what he needs them to do. Now imagine what his teams would play like if he could recruit all over the nation for "big name" talent, getting whatever athletes he wants to run his offense. That is what the name "Notre Dame" allows.

8. He is an Irish Catholic
This is pretty self explanatory for people who know anything about the University of Notre Dame. For those of you who don't know: to put it simply, he would be a perfect fit.