Report: Details emerge on Brian Kelly's exit from Notre Dame

As reports linking him to the LSU job opening surface, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has not been in contact with his players or staff, per The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna. News broke Monday that the Tigers are expected to announce Kelly as the program’s 33rd head coach as soon as Tuesday, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel.

One assistant was reportedly on a recruiting visit to a player’s house and first saw the news on his phone upon leaving.

“The news broke when I walked out of the house, so I look like a f—– a–hole,” he said.

Kelly has been the head coach for the Fighting Irish for 12 seasons, turning them into a constant in the College Football Playoff conversation. He’s been to two playoff semifinals and appeared in the 2012 national championship. There has been nothing but consistency at Notre Dame with Kelly, winning at least 10 games over the past five years.

He is set to take over for an LSU program that fired head coach Ed Orgeron less than two seasons after winning a national championship. LSU finished the regular season 6-6 with a 3-5 record in the SEC. Orgeron announced after his final game with the Tigers this past weekend he will not be coaching in the bowl game.

Kelly isn’t the only coach not to let his current school in on his next career move. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley left the Sooners for USC without giving a heads up to his president and athletic director.

For Kelly, the news comes amidst an 11-1 season and on the brink of a berth in the College Football Playoff. If the Fighting Irish do make the playoff, Kelly will be the first head coach to be in the playoff while also taking a new head coaching job.

Kelly has a 92-39 overall record during his time at Notre Dame. Facilities and the inability to truly compete for national championships are two factors to consider in why he is making the move. Before Notre Dame, he was at Cincinnati, where he went 34-6 overall. He has never coached south of the Mason-Dixon line.

A handful of LSU players have entered the transfer portal in recent weeks, including cornerback Eli Ricks. The former five-star recruit missed the season-opener, then played in the next five games until he was ruled out for the season with an injury.

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.