Brian Kelly- Suspect and Victim?

[Little Jerry Lawler]

We all know by now that Brian Kelly is going to be the Notre Dame head coach even if he doesn't say it himself. Marty Gilyard said that Kelly went to Notre Dame just for the money and Tony Pike stated that Kelly told them before the Pittsburgh game that he loves it there. Their annual football banquet was full of reporters asking about his move to ND rather than a celebration of the Bearcats' achievements. Gilyard and the rest of his teammates walked out on a meeting Kelly held to tell them about his decision to leave Cincinnati. I believe that if he feelings of going to ND, he should have told them straight up and not leave his players in the dark wondering whether he was going to be there next month or not.

However, is Brian Kelly a victim of a bigger issue in the NCAA? I believe National Signing Day is around the first of February so it is important for colleges to get their players. Especially if its a team that needs a new head coach. I believe ND was worried that if they waited to talk to Kelly or Edsall until after the bowl game, they would have missed out on the opportunity to get good players. It would be hard anyway because ND has higher standards of admission for their athletes than most colleges in the country. I would add an extra month for recruiting so they can take their time and pick the right coach but I don't know how that would affect everything else. It just doesn't feel right that a coach can just leave the month before a bowl game especially when he told his former players that he loves it there.

So how did you feel about Kelly leaving Cincinnati the way he did? Do you felt it was classless or was it justified? Also, is Kelly a victim of the NCAA recruiting process and how would you change if it you want to?

 

[Shocky]

It sucks. We all get that the NCAA is a business, but their rules and regulations when it comes to policeing college football is terrible, if not flat out atrocious. In every other sport, you can't talk about another job, a team can't contact you, or anything, until the season is over. Hell, look no further then Men's Basketball. If tis type of behavior happened, sanctions would be dropped on the parties involved.

The system flat out sucks, because now more then Likely UC is going to Poach some coach from some other team involved in a bowl, and the dominoes begin to fall. I have no problem with grown adults making decisions they feel are best for their family, but the way and timing of the deal is what sucks. Push signing day back, and no talking to any parties until the season is done.

However, I take issue with Brian Kelly lying flat out to his players this week about the whole thing, and his recent Twitter update late last night. The dude is an egotistical ass. This is a guy that demanded UC receive media attention, but did everything he could to avoid the media yesterday. He threw his players under the bus when the news was breaking of him leaving, while he snuck into the banquet with police escort uttering "No Comment" the entire way. Then, like Judas, had the nerve to sit with the team during the banquet, only to pull them aside after wards to let them know what was going on. Keep in mind, Kelly promised the team he was staying last week, and then promised them on Monday they would be the first to know.

I love the fact that the Bearcat players walked out on BK's big moment. I hope Kelly sleeps well at night with his bags of money as he watched Rudy to put him to sleep.

Some of the better quotes.

"I didn't want to hear it," he said. "I'm fairly disgusted with the situation -- him letting it last this long. ... Everybody and their mamma knew what was going on. I feel like he did our team an injustice. Hopefully he'll pack his things up and get to South Bend in a hurry."

"We don't really care what he has to say anymore," tight end Ben Guidugli said after a post-banquet team meeting. "He can go talk to his Notre Dame team. We're ready to move forward with whoever wants to move forward with us. He's not on the boat anymore, so we've got to continue on."

At the end of the Day, Brian Kelly can do what he wants, but the way he treated and stepped on his own players at the end of the day is flat out pathetic.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

As a Notre Dame fan, it's a shame things had to go down this way. Man up and tell your team what's going on instead of playing the victim. Kelly clearly knew he was going to Notre Dame. It's as simple as that. He should write a book on how to NOT leave a school. Because he did about everything wrong. Not letting his team know, not being up front about the situation and still semi-denying he was going as of last night when Cincy already released a presser saying he was gone and not coaching in the Orange Bowl. When the SCHOOL beats you in telling someone, you've gotta problem.

Kelly handled this the exact wrong way, but it is what it is. We're getting a fine coach who's led every team he's coached to victory. He just handled the situation the wrong way.

 

[BooCocky]

How people can blame Kelly I will never know. This move was pretty much inevitable. He has been there like four years and has tried to get the job at Michigan, Washington, Tennessee and probably somewhere else. I believe Cincinnati is in a lot of debt so they broke a lot of his promises. The size of the stadium is way too small, therefore it's hard to add on. Simply Cinci doesnt have the resources to match what Kelly actually wants. They missed deadlines for practice fields and so forth. When you have to split the Nip to practice you seriously have a problem.

Cinci pretty much lacked everything Kelly wanted. Yes he was in contention for a title, but there is a bigger picture. He wanted a much bigger legacy. Something CInci couldn't offer. Kelly isnt a suspect or a victim. He took his dream job. No harm done, the timing might have been bad, but you're not going to coach the Sugar Bowl then leave for South Bend. Aint no way, no how. That would have been idiotic. The next coach falls into a good situation. At least for a few years, until they have there four years of recruiting. Blaming Kelly is ludicrous, when Cinci was one broken promise after another. Kelly did absolutely nothing wrong. Therefore he isn't a victim. Upgrade your facilities Cinci and maybe a coach will stay for more than 4 years.

I am a biased Pitt fan so this basically holds no weight...

 

[Shocky]

What? Living in Cincinnati I have an advantage on some of these reports, but what you are saying Becker is flat out wrong. That was simply something Kelly put out there to make himself not look like a dick on the way out the door.

Yes, Cincinnati traditionally is a basketball school with a 35,000 seat Football stadium, no denying that. Brian Kelly wanted a practice facility, ground broke on the Jefferson Street Center months ago. Brian Kelly wanted expansion on the stadium, and those plans are still going forward. Brian Kelly wanted more money for his assitance, and the board of Trustees all approved of that.

What people forget to realize is that there is a lot of old money in Cincinnati, and a lot of Alums with deep pockets. They are just as pissed off as the fans that they have gone ahead to get the ball rolling on these projects, and the man they entrusted it to bailed for a bigger pay check.