Brian Kelly has been a major figure in college football for the past decade and a half. Kelly has been coaching some of the biggest programs in the country during this time. He was the head coach at Notre Dame from 2010-2021. He would leave South Bend to become the head coach for LSU in 2022 where he is still coaching.
You would think that by running two major programs for so long he would be one of the top coaches in the sport. At the same time, he does have an impressive resume, which includes 186 wins. As well as holding the record for most wins by a Notre Dame head coach, 113. He’s not as great of a coach as everyone thinks he is. He’s one of the most overrated coaches in college football.
Inability to Win a Big Game
No matter what your opinion of Kelly is, you can’t argue against his record in big games. Currently, he is 35-35 against ranked teams in his career. Sure that’s a .500 record but that doesn’t tell the whole story. When Kelly is in a big game he seems to crumble under the pressure. Games when it would either be a major resume booster or to make a statement on the national stage he always seemed to come up short. This has been something that has followed Kelly throughout both Notre Dame and LSU.
This problem became apparent during the 2012 season. Notre Dame was having a historic season. They were 12-0 and were led by star linebacker Manti Te’o. They were set to face Alabama in the National Championship game. Sure they were double-digit underdogs going into the game, however with how dominant the Irish were that season, many expected it to be at least competitive. However, Notre Dame would lose 42-14. This was the beginning unable to win the big game narrative. It would only continue with blowout losses to (7) Ohio State, (2) Clemson, and (1) Alabama in postseason play.
This trend only continued at LSU. His first season was a mixed bag. Sure he had the big upset win over (6) Alabama. But, he was blown out by both (8) Tennessee and (1) Georgia. However, the narrative returned last season when they were upset twice by teams ranked below them. As well as losing again to Alabama. Recementing the argument that Kelly can’t win in a big game.
Why Does This Make Kelly Overrated?
After reading all of the flat performances, and upsets Kelly has had during big games you may ask yourself why this makes him overrated. It should seem like an obvious fact that Kelly can’t win a big game. Which would be held against him and keep him out of the conversation as one of the best coaches in the sport. However that is not the case, there are lots of people out there saying Kelly is a great coach and it’s just circumstances that make him lose. Some have even gone as far as calling him the best coach without a national championship.
These excuses can be anything. The most common excuse for Kelly was at Notre Dame was the reason he was losing. Notre Dame has certain restrictions when it comes to recruiting. There are academic standards that a recruit needs to meet if they want to be brought in. This limits the pool of recruits the Irish can get. Thus the easy excuse is that Notre Dame doesn’t have the same talent as top programs like Alabama or Ohio State. So the loss isn’t his fault.
However, these past three seasons have proven that narrative false. In the past three seasons, Notre Dame has a record of 8-4 against ranked opponents. As well as having a 2-0 record against ranked SEC opponents. Showing that since Marcus Freeman took over Notre Dame has faired much better in bigger games. Ultimately ruining the Notre Dame excuses and making the losses fall more on Kelly. If Notre Dame’s success wasn’t enough, LSU doesn’t have restrictions on recruiting. This means his roster has the same talent level as the other major programs. Brian Kelly is the reason his teams can’t win big games. Thus making him an overrated coach.
Thanks for reading! Credit for my feature image goes to Gus Stark/LSU. You can find more college football content at Belly Up Sports and follow me on Twitter/X.
