The Book on Brian Kelly

(Notre Dame Football News) – Since he was hired, there’s been so much disinformation swirling around him, that I decided to research what Kelly does and get some perspective on how he approaches leadership, running his offense, recruiting and motivation.

As many fans are returning to see what’s going on with ND football, I thought it would be helpful to recap the the articles to provide some perspective.

Offense
Will Kelly’s Offense Work at ND? I asked Chris Brown of Smart Football to help explain Kelly’s offense and how it compares to other successful spread offenses such as Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon and Georgia Tech,

Kelly and the Running Game – Suave_Andrew breaks down Kelly’s approach to running the football and his use of the Tight end.

Kelly and Leadership
Kelly and Leadership Part I: Developing Players from the Inside Out – One of the key building blocks behind Brian Kelly’s success (despite not having a recruiting class finish in the top 50 in the country at Cincinnati ) is his emphasis and structured approach to developing players physically and mentally.

Kelly and Leadership, Part II: Coaching the Coaches – What’s intriguing from a leadership perspective about Kelly’s background is that he has been able to create a structure that enables those behaviors. He follows a “coach the coaches” philosophy that creates a coaching roster that can clearly communicate a consistent vision, set a high bar and drive accountability.

Motivation and Accountability
Brian Kelly and the Secret Sauce – To be successful, you have be able to make everyone around you believe and that’s not a trait normally found in nature. A top level college coach needs that leadership intangible. I’m not guaranteeing Kelly will take a seat in the pantheon of great Irish coaches, I do feel we’ve taken a big step beyond Charlie and Davieham. I doubt, for instance, that you will see teams dogging it on the field or in the weight room.

Recruiting
Recruiting, Stars and RKGs – One big question many fans have about Kelly and recruiting is exactly what he means when he uses the acronym RKG (right kind of guys.) I, like many, feared RKG was code for taking low hanging fruit and shying away from star athletes who might have attitudes or need more social development (the kind of players who often win championships and turn out well in the end.)

2 thoughts on “The Book on Brian Kelly

  1. Being a Cincinnati graduate (1980) and following coach Kelly for the past 3 years, let me say one thing to the ND faithful: you have a Great coach that WILL turn around ND football. Just give him the chance. ND has not had a great FB team in decades and you won't unless you give Kelly the time to institute his system. ND has a tougher schedule than UC did, so be patient and it WILL pay off. I hate to see Kelly leave UC, but you're in for a fun ride, IF you support him.

  2. Brian Kelly has given all Irish fans some hope. He has been successful at every level of college, not unlike Ara, Dan, and Lou. The Notre Dame job is is dream job and he is aware of all the demands and needs of the program. Let’s thank Charlie for not leaving the cupboard bare for Coach Kelly has players that he can win with and they are hungry for success also. I think we are in for a treat. Hi Irish Five.