Brian Kelly on winning a national title at Notre Dame: ‘We don’t have forever’
By Keith Farner
Published:
Notre Dame went through a big shift in its coaching staff this offseason when Clark Lea left the defensive coordinator post for Vanderbilt, and Brian Kelly lured Marcus Freeman from Cincinnati to replace him.
That Freeman was heavily recruited to LSU speaks to the sales pitch or commitment Notre Dame made to Freeman, who reportedly was offered more than $2 million at LSU. Kelly told Yahoo’s Pete Thamel that it’s a testament to the commitment he has with Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick and school president Rev. John I. Jenkins.
“It’s a reminder for me that the three of us are committed and tied together in this window, that we all want to see the same thing happen,” Kelly said. “And if your athletic director and your president and your head coach are all in alignment, that’s a really good place to be. And that we don’t have forever. We feel like there’s a sense of urgency to get this done.”
As Thamel noted, Kelly is coming off his third undefeated regular season in his 11 seasons at Notre Dame, including two College Football Playoff bids in the last three years. Amid the program’s best run in the past generation, there remains a tangible distance to the space occupied by Alabama atop the sport.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
