Bye-Bye Brian Kelly!

Brian Kelly reported to work today and found that he wasn't going to a BCS bowl game, he didn't have an undefeated team, or a shot at finishing. Brian Kelly is no longer the coach at undefeated Cincinnati, he is now the coach at Notre Dame. And to tell you the truth I am utterly disappointed, both in Brian Kelly and the University of Notre Dame.

Let's start with Brian Kelly. He left Cincinnati for no more than selfish reasons. The unfortunate part of this is that he left these young men just weeks before the biggest game in school history. It is a sticky situation for a college coach and taking his "next job". I understand that there was no other choice for Notre Dame, they needed to fill their vacant coaching position for recruiting purposes. But I think that Kelly could've told his kids from the beginning of the process that he would leave. Which is where I think he handled it wrong. He was shy about it to the media and to the team. He can jerk around the media as much as he wants but he owed his team the respect to be up front with them. It is apparent to me that he didn't do that. The reaction from his players today told the story. These young men felt saddened and stunned.But whoever was interviewing these kids got their cameras on the right person to respond to the situation, Cincinnati wide receiver Mardy Gilyard. I have said on numerous occasions that Gilyard is one of the best interviews in all of sports. And he says that the city of Cincinnati should not be worried because "we (the team) still got you Cincinnati.

Notre Dame needed a coach, and they got a good one. But they made a big mistake in what kind of coach they hired. The Irish hired a coach that knows a lot about the offense. He has built an almost unstoppable offense at his previous stop in Cincinnati. But the Irish are badly in need of some more top defensive talent. In Wies's tenure at Notre Dame, the Irish recruited one top defensive recruit. Kelly should put recruiting on hold until he hires a defensive coordinator.

I don't live in a fairy tale. I knew that Kelly was going to take this job and knew he had to start now. But it is sad and unnerving to see him leave at such a pivotal moment for a program that he built from scratch. I would've really enjoyed to see him finish this mission all the way to the end. Live like no one is watching and remember, the toughest decisions to make are also the hardest to justify.