If Brian Kelly is to be believed, fundraising is a big part of the job in South Bend. So much so, that Notre Dame’s 4-8 record last year was due to his time spent away from his program while he was raising funds for a football-only facility.

That’s what Kelly was reportedly selling to Matt Hayes of Bleacher Report. According to the Notre Dame coach, his attention was so split last season, the program lost its ‘attention to detail’ necessary to compete at a high level.

Here’s what Kelly said in Hayes’ article:

When asked how that impacted 2016, Kelly says bluntly, “It f–ked up last year’s team.”

“I was the absent professor,” Kelly says. “I wasn’t paying attention to the details that we needed. There were internal issues that—if a guy is on it, and he’s doing his job as the head coach, he would’ve seen those things early.

That excuse probably isn’t going to cut it this season with a huge game against Georgia scheduled for the second weekend of the season. If the Irish get worked by the Bulldogs coming off such a disastrous season, that may be all she wrote for Kelly’s career in South Bend.

Check out the response of Dave Bartoo of CFB Matrix when he heard Kelly’s “excuse” for last season: