re: What are you most looking forward to under Kelly, and what do you fear the most?

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The thing I'm looking forward to most is simple competency - good clean alignments, plays in on time, clock management, fundamental blocking and tackling, just basic well played football.

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Tell me you haven't watched ND football in the Kelly era without telling me you haven't watched ND football in the Kelly era.

If Kelly were a good fundamental coach he would've won a title in 12 years, or at least gotten close. Yet he could only muster a SINGLE win against a team that finished the season in the top 10 in his entire tenure. (2020 versus Clemson *without Trevor Lawrence).

Just to temper the enthusiasm around here: Kelly's record against top 10 teams (3-8), against top 5 teams (1-10). Kelly never wins big games against ranked teams, especially if they're on the road and/or at night.

Brian Kelly had to call timeouts routinely on the opening kickoff and if he knew when to go for 2 he'd have beaten the #1 team and eventual national champion in back to back years. But Kelly doesn't know these fundamental coaching skills (2014 lost to FSU, 2015 lost to Clemson) because he'll go for 2 too early in games and keep chasing those points all game.

Or go watch the last quarter versus Northwestern in 2014, when Brian Kelly goes for 2 unnecessarily up 11 points (the only math that allows Northwestern back into the game) which they promptly tie and beat ND on overtime. Kelly refuses to admit he made a mistake on the math in press conferences afterwards.

Brian Kelly started other players ahead of Ian Book for 2+ seasons inexplicably. Ian Book has won more games than any ND QB ever, yet Kelly started guys over him who graduated & transferred to ranked programs but couldn't get on the field at their new schools. You'd think a guy with all that coaching experience could identify QB talent a little sooner.

His best team (2015) lost to Clemson and got spanked in the Fiesta Bowl, despite having 8 NFL opening day starters on the team, 4 of whom were first round picks.

On top of his being a lazy recruiter, Kelly also has no coaching tree from which to draw. Beyond his cronies from Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati, he grab bags short-term mercenaries for coordinators with mixed results (Brian Van Gorder, Bob Diaco, Jeff Quinn, Mike Sanford, Mike Elko, Clark Lea). Good luck finding coordinators and expect frequent turnover. Kelly ran off his best assistants (Mark Lafluer, Robert Saleh) because he treated them as the 'help' (shoveling snow at his house and parking guests' cars at his wife's birthday party).

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GoIrish02

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Sounds like LSU hired an awful coach and a real shitbag

Looking forward to: ending the clown show that has been running since 2004
Worried about: Kelly will just be a “firm hand on the wheel”/pre-retirement type who puts together a string of 8-4 seasons with annual losses to Florida, Alabama, A&M, and Ole Miss.