Apr 12, 2025; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman smiles as he walks off the field after the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Notre Dame Football: After AP Preseason Poll, Why I Don't Miss Brian Kelly

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Jeff Feyerer | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 9:21 PM ET

I’m just going to say the first thing that was on my mind when I saw the release of the AP Preseason Poll and Notre Dame’s 6th place standing.

I don’t miss Brian Kelly. Not ... one ... bit.

The list of reasons not to miss him is already lengthy, and to go through them is not the point I’m trying to bring up here.

It’s nice to live in a world where preseason praise is heaped onto the Notre Dame team, and it feels deserved.

It’s nice to live in a world where people aren’t rolling their eyes, saying they got their ranking on perception and prestige alone.

And it’s nice to know that more people seem to be rooting for Notre Dame to do well than ever before.

Likability was never a thing during Kelly’s tenure. But head coach Marcus Freeman has made the team cool, successful, and likable in the public’s eye as well as the pollsters.

Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Freeman, through his success off the field in recruiting, dealing with the new NIL era, and winning games on the field, continues to build up evidence that he is the exact right coach for the program at this moment.

As successful as Kelly was, he could never ascend to that level of popularity.

During his twelve seasons in South Bend, the highest AP ranking Kelly’s teams had in the preseason was 9th, which happened twice (2019, 2021).

Freeman, at the beginning of just his fourth season with the Irish, has had the following preseason ranking in the AP poll: 5th, 13th, 7th, 6th.

To be fair, Kelly deserves credit for pulling the team out of the Charlie Weis doldrums.

The Irish started the season unranked in two of Kelly's first three seasons. And one of those teams (2012) he got to the National Championship game.

And Kelly absolutely deserves credit for not leaving the cupboard bare for Freeman.

A lot of Freeman’s early success can be attributed to the talent on hand when he started and the success the program had late in Kelly’s tenure.

But what Kelly could never accomplish in South Bend - ultimately winning the National Title - now seems to be right there for the taking. Kelly thought he had to escape to have a chance at winning his title, but as this preseason AP ranking shows, the potential is there for Freeman to be in that mix on a regular basis.

Freeman took up the mantle, earned the respect of players, fans, and, in the case we’re talking about, the media, and is ready to prove Kelly wrong.

And the Associated Press football pollsters see it too.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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