What's wild to me is a Notre Dame coach leaving on his own to go to LSU. But one day after the Oklahoma coach leaving to go to USC I guess anything's possible now.
With a real shot at making the playoffs!
LSU's athletic director had a story in the Athletic how he learned that you have to take your shot at anyone in a coaching search after Chris Petersen's agent approached him about the Washington coaching job when he was Athletic director there. He thought he would never have a chance at Petersen and that episode altered his thinking about coaching searches.
I love Riley saying, "Oh no one from USC contacted me until Sunday morning after the loss" and he decided in like 5 hours to bolt.
And really the first time Riley's faced some sort of adversity at OU since he took over. But better to get out now before moving to the SEC and being a smaller fish in a much bigger pond. Or pool.
So it sounds like the LSU deal is for 7-10 years in excess of $100M. 7 years $100M is over $14M/year, can't fault him for that. It does seem like a weird fit though. An Irish/Catholic from Boston who's coached his entire career in the Midwest now goes to the Bayou at 60 years old. I guess he felt he took Notre Dame as far as he could. I do enjoy some people on twitter referring to him as Touchdown Judas.
Successors: Marcus Freeman - Defensive Coordinator Notre Dame. Your boy paje's top choice for the job. The program is on solid ground right now, they've been a top 6 program the last five years. Freeman has a ton of energy, players love him and he's shown to be a very good recruiter. Promote him to head couch, Mike Elston from D line coach to D coordinator, keep Tommy Rees as O coordinator and keep this moving. I'd be interest to see what Rees could do if he's out from BK's shadow. I think he's a creative playcaller that has been handcuffed by Kelly a bit these last two years. I honestly not even that upset about BK leaving, but if he takes Freeman, Elston and Rees with him then I'd be upset.
Luke Fickell - Head Coach Cincinnati - I'd be happy with this hire as well. Rumor is Ohio St. and ND were the two jobs he would jump at. Marcus Freeman was his D coordinator at Cinncy before going to ND, so if he could keep Freeman on staff that would be amazing (I think Freeman goes with Kelly if he isn't offered the job, but its worth noting he worked for Fickell very recently). This probably only happens if Cinncy loses Saturday and his knocked out of the playoffs. I can't see him leaving when he can coach his undefeated team in the CFP and I don't think ND can wait until January to make this hire, especially with the early signing period for recruits.
Matt Campbell - Head Coach Iowa St. - The first year his team has some expectations and he coaches a Preseason top 10 team to a 7-5 record. No thank you.
Jeff Brohm - Head Coach Purdue - Dynamic offensive mind and quality recruiter. I can talk myself into it, but for me its a step down from Freeman or Fickell.
Urb - Head Coach Jacksonville Jaguars - Not gonna happen, but I'd be into it.
At the end of the day Brian Kelly was out of leverage at Notre Dame. He was under contract until 2024 and the only thing left for him to do was win a national championship. At LSU he has a five year window, easier standards to get recruits and the ability to leverage more money if he shows progress in years 2 or 3. Stick with a 3 year window and no more money coming in, or get a 5 year window, double your salary off the bat and have a potential to get more $ down the road. It probably wasn't a difficult decision.
So this is pretty much exactly what happened. I am very excited. This Notre Dame face turn is completely unexpected and won't last long, but it seems the general public is pulling for this team (or at least this story) after the way Kelly left.
Now Georgia needs to take care of Bama and Houston, Baylor or Dong's Hawkeyes need to pull off an upset. Get this team into the CFP and see what happens.
So it sounds like the LSU deal is for 7-10 years in excess of $100M. 7 years $100M is over $14M/year, can't fault him for that. It does seem like a weird fit though. An Irish/Catholic from Boston who's coached his entire career in the Midwest now goes to the Bayou at 60 years old. I guess he felt he took Notre Dame as far as he could. I do enjoy some people on twitter referring to him as Touchdown Judas.
Successors: Marcus Freeman - Defensive Coordinator Notre Dame. Your boy paje's top choice for the job. The program is on solid ground right now, they've been a top 6 program the last five years. Freeman has a ton of energy, players love him and he's shown to be a very good recruiter. Promote him to head couch, Mike Elston from D line coach to D coordinator, keep Tommy Rees as O coordinator and keep this moving. I'd be interest to see what Rees could do if he's out from BK's shadow. I think he's a creative playcaller that has been handcuffed by Kelly a bit these last two years. I honestly not even that upset about BK leaving, but if he takes Freeman, Elston and Rees with him then I'd be upset.
Luke Fickell - Head Coach Cincinnati - I'd be happy with this hire as well. Rumor is Ohio St. and ND were the two jobs he would jump at. Marcus Freeman was his D coordinator at Cinncy before going to ND, so if he could keep Freeman on staff that would be amazing (I think Freeman goes with Kelly if he isn't offered the job, but its worth noting he worked for Fickell very recently). This probably only happens if Cinncy loses Saturday and his knocked out of the playoffs. I can't see him leaving when he can coach his undefeated team in the CFP and I don't think ND can wait until January to make this hire, especially with the early signing period for recruits.
Matt Campbell - Head Coach Iowa St. - The first year his team has some expectations and he coaches a Preseason top 10 team to a 7-5 record. No thank you.
Jeff Brohm - Head Coach Purdue - Dynamic offensive mind and quality recruiter. I can talk myself into it, but for me its a step down from Freeman or Fickell.
Urb - Head Coach Jacksonville Jaguars - Not gonna happen, but I'd be into it.
At the end of the day Brian Kelly was out of leverage at Notre Dame. He was under contract until 2024 and the only thing left for him to do was win a national championship. At LSU he has a five year window, easier standards to get recruits and the ability to leverage more money if he shows progress in years 2 or 3. Stick with a 3 year window and no more money coming in, or get a 5 year window, double your salary off the bat and have a potential to get more $ down the road. It probably wasn't a difficult decision.
So this is pretty much exactly what happened. I am very excited. This Notre Dame face turn is completely unexpected and won't last long, but it seems the general public is pulling for this team (or at least this story) after the way Kelly left.
Now Georgia needs to take care of Bama and Houston, Baylor or Dong's Hawkeyes need to pull off an upset. Get this team into the CFP and see what happens.
