The fit is perfect. Or "totally logical," as one of his friends put it.
Brian Kelly to the New York Giants makes more sense than earmuffs on a cold day, Kobe saying goodbye and Marlon Brando in "The Godfather."
He's an East Coast guy with the requisite ego, the right temperament and an ease in front of the media.
He has pretty much killed it at each of his four coaching stops, going 39-13 in his last four seasons at Notre Dame (55-23 over the entire six). His director of player personnel for two seasons was Tim McDonnell, now a pro scout for the Giants and grandson of the late Wellington Mara, the team's "Papa Bear" Halas. McDonnell is a nephew of current Giants CEO John Mara.
Kelly has thrived in South Bend, but his tenure has not been angst-free.
Academic misconduct resulted in the suspensions of starters Everett Golson, KeiVarae Russell, DaVaris Daniels and Ishaq Williams. The school should never apologize for having high standards, but coaches don't always agree with them. Kelly and athletic director Jack Swarbrick have learned to coexist.
Most college coaches refer to their players as "we," as in, "We needed to complete that pass." Kelly is more of a "they" guy, just as many NFL coaches put it.
The bright lights would not faze Kelly. He voluntarily put a spotlight on his program for Showtime's "A Season with Notre Dame Football," the college version of HBO's "Hard Knocks."
One thing that struck me was how Kelly handled the season-ending injury of quarterback Malik Zaire.
"You don't know when your time is going to come," he told his players. "You have to be ready."
I'm not saying Kelly was callous; he was not. He handled it, well, professionally, in the same way Bill Parcells would have.
Kelly has spoken of a Notre Dame shelf life, telling radio host Colin Cowherd in September: "There's never an offseason. I enjoy doing it, though. There's a difference. I don't mind going out and playing golf (with boosters). I don't mind doing these things, but there's no question, you can't do this job for 15 years."
He is six years in. Lou Holtz and Ara Parseghian each lasted 11.
No one loved Notre Dame more than Holtz, but he didn't jibe with then-AD Mike Wadsworth and simply knew it was time to go.
Recruiting makes college coaching an endless grind, especially when your recruiting base stretches from Miami to Seattle. And with teenagers seemingly de-committing on a whim, it almost makes dealing with the Johnny Manziels of the world tolerable.
Kelly, 54 with a fading Boston accent, makes close to $5 million. This would not be a money play, given the high-tax New York metropolitan area and comical cost of living. He also would have to balance the needs of his family -- three school-age children and wife Paqui, a breast cancer survivor.
If he's offered the job, this would be a chance to rise to the profession's highest ranks with an organization synonymous with stability.
Some viewed Kelly's comments last week at the Fiesta Bowl as a blanket statement that he's not interested in the NFL. But that doesn't capture what he actually said.
"I'm not curious about how I would do in the NFL," he said. "It's always about, 'Would I want to do that? Would I want to put myself in that position?' That's the issue."
And the sense some people got that he would demand complete control? Nope.
"If you're a football coach, you have to understand what you're getting into in the NFL," he said. "You're coaching and collaborating. To me, that's the NFL. You have to understand there has to be a great collaboration."
I once played golf with Kelly for a column and he told me: "You're pretty smart. You know, it's not easy to get 4 1/2 hours with the Notre Dame football coach."
He's pretty smart too. Which only adds to the intrigue.
About the Author
