LSU coach Brian Kelly speaks on Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman
Former Notre Dame defensive back Shaun Crawford sat down with former Fighting Irish head coach and current LSU head coach Brian Kelly for another episode of the Varsity House podcast. The two discussed first-year Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, Kelly’s successor, and the state of Notre Dame in the wake of Kelly’s departure.
Kelly hired Freeman as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator ahead of the 2021 season. He tried to get him to go to LSU with him, but Freeman chose to stay in South Bend and take over one of the most prestigious programs in college football history as a 36-year-old.
Kelly is not surprised he took on such a task.
“I think he is an extremely bright, intelligent coach,” Kelly said. “Being a first-time head coach is difficult. Being a first-time head coach at Notre Dame is really difficult because there are so many moving pieces. He seems to have learned so much during the season. I think he just continues to rely on the people around him. His instincts are good. Looks like he has his team playing better.”
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Kelly has not been able to closely watch a Notre Dame game this season, but he has followed along enough to know where the 5-3 Irish stand eight games into a rollercoaster of a season.
“I know they had a couple of tough ones,” Kelly said. “Look, I love those kids because I recruited most of them. I win with them, and I lose with them and feel it. I know they are not where they want to be, but they overcome adversity. Those are tough kids. They bounce back. … They’re built for this. They’re built for adversity. I’m sure they’re going to come out on top.”
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As it relates to the new gig, Kelly told Crawford there are “little nuances” that he experienced as the head coach at Notre Dame that he has not had to deal with at LSU. But he also said the “enormity” of being in charge of a program like the one in South Bend prepared him to take hold of a program that won a national championship as recently as three years ago.
The three LSU coaches prior to Kelly’s arrival — Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron — all won a national title in Baton Rouge. Kelly was not able to get over the hump and become the first Irish coach since Lou Holtz in 1988 to win one at Notre Dame. Kelly was the fourth head coach the Irish had since Holtz left. None of them won it all. That’s the challenge Freeman has.
Kelly didn’t guarantee Freeman will be the man for the mission. The one to get it done. The one to do what he could not despite all of his success. But he did say Freeman is on track to be highly successful if he just stays true to who he is — the guy Kelly thought highly enough of to hire and want to bring with him down to the bayou.
“Rely on his gut instincts because he’s pretty smart, and I think he will get his football team playing well,” Kelly said.
