Brian Kelly’s Top Accomplishments at Notre Dame, Ranked

When Kelly took the Notre Dame job in December of 2010, the Fighting Irish had managed to go just 16-21 combined over the three previous years. An 8-5 mark that first fall was no great shakes by Notre Dame's standards, but after a 4-5 start, it felt like things were pointing in the right direction after beating Utah, Army, USC, and Miami to close the year.

4. Beat USC Regularly

It must be said before anything else that going against Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron, Steve Sarkisian, Clay Helton, and Donte Williams isn't exactly Pete Carroll or John Robinson, but Kelly did what needed to be done against USC. After Notre Dame lost eight straight games in the series from 2002-2009, Kelly started his turn at the rivalry with a bang, beating Kiffin and the Trojans in 2010. He'd go on to go 8-3 against USC while Notre Dame's head coach. At least part of USC's wanting to run from this rivalry stems from Notre Dame's recent dominance, which began under Kelly's watch.

3. Program Reshaping Post-2016

The next two go hand-in-hand, but 2016 wound up being the best thing to happen to Kelly at Notre Dame. After a brutal 4-8 showing despite a top 10 preseason ranking, Kelly reworked how everything was done in the program. He had to make tough personal firings of friends and rework the structure of the team. To his credit, Notre Dame football has never been the same since that year, and that's meant as a full-on compliment.

2. Hiring of Assistant Coaches

Following the brutal 2016, look at the assistant coaches Kelly was able to bring into Notre Dame: Mike Elko (current Texas A&M head coach), Chip Long, Clark Lea (current Vanderbilt head coach), Tommy Rees (current Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator), and for 2021 he brought in some up-and-comer to run his defense...

1. Hiring Marcus Freeman

Marcus Freeman was the hottest name of assistant coaches in the early days of 2021, fresh off leading Cincinnati to a Peach Bowl appearance where it almost knocked off mighty Georgia. Ed Orgeron desperately wanted Freeman to become his defensive coordinator at LSU, as Kelly wanted the same at Notre Dame.

Whatever Kelly said and did to get Freeman to stay in the Midwest and not head to the SEC deserves praise. There is an alternate universe right now where Marcus Freeman is the head coach at LSU, pushing the Tigers closer to another national championship, and where Notre Dame is still good, but not seriously threatening championships, under Brian Kelly.