With the NFL coaching carousel in full motion, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has once again confirmed his commitment to the Fighting Irish despite many attempts to try and connect him to various NFL coaching rumors.
“I really feel like I’m at the level,” Kelly said, according to Irish247. “I know the NFL gets that notoriety because it’s professional sports, but it doesn’t mean necessarily it has it right in all facets. I think college football has it right for me, because for me it’s coach centric where I control the scholarships. I control the roster. Not that I’m a control freak, but this is my 25th year as a head coach.”
Kelly has the benefit of seeing other college coaches take a dip in the NFL pool over the years, only to come craling back to the college ranks one way or the other. Nick Saban, fresh off a national championship headed to the Miami Dolphins, only to soon come back to Alabama (which has worked out nicely). Steve Spurrier was at the top of his game as Florida’s head coach when he took off to the Washington Redskins, which led him to need a chance at South Carolina to redeem his career. Bobby Petrino left Louisville for the Atlanta Falcons, only to walk out on them and make his way to Arkansas in bizarre fashion. More recently, Chip Kelly left Oregon to coach the Philadelphia Eagles and he did not quite reach the end of his third full season before getting fired. The grass is not always greener in the NFL, even for the top college coaches.
“So doing it for so long, I like to be able to know what’s going on in the front office. Those are my biggest concerns sometimes,” Brian Kelly explained. “There’s so much turnover in the NFL. There’s the lack of continuity. In every great business there has to be some change, but continuity is important and I’ve always liked the continuity. And at Notre Dame we’ve got great structure. Great continuity. Great athletic director. Great president. So that’s why there’s no need to go chase anything else. I’m in a great situation at Notre Dame.”
Those words may be encouraging for Irish fans to hear, but the truth is until all jobs in the NFL are off the market we should never say never to many possibilities in the coaching world.
