Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football
Kelly Confident in Changes and Vision
August 1, 2017
2,846
Brian Kelly spoke publicly for the first time in three months, and there might have been a touch of quiet optimism coming from the Notre Dame head coach on Monday afternoon.
In 2016, Kelly made sure to point out his Irish needed to do the little things extraordinarily well to have a big season. Notre Dame fell very short of doing that last fall and finished 4-8.
Changes were made. Jobs were lost. The culture was changed. All that has been noticeable this offseason as confidence is growing within the walls of The Gug.
Kelly admitted he changed to become a better head coach and it started with his two new coordinators, Chip Long (OC) and Mike Elko (DC), as he stated he got to know both on a personal level away from the chalkboard.
“I don't know that the Xs and the Os were really the eye-opening moments as much as just really personalities and what drives them, and really getting to know them as human beings,” stated Kelly. “Because when you don't have a past relationship with them, you're getting to know them as people.
"I don't know that I've walked in and Mike Elko showed me a defense that I haven't seen before. What he showed me was an incredible attention to detail, a great way to communicate and teach. Chip Long showed me just an incredible veracity to want to be great in everything that he does, and his ability to relay that to the players under his charge.
“So it was really about that more than anything else, than it was an eye-opening experience in terms of a scheme that I hadn't seen before. So it was really getting to know them and where I can help them across the board with my experience of 26 years of being a head coach.”
Another big piece to the puzzle was the hiring of Brian Polian as special teams coordinator. Polian brings head coaching experience but most importantly special teams experience back to South Bend.
“I had a great deal of respect for him coming in,” Kelly explained. “So I think first and foremost, I wanted somebody with a veteran presence, somebody that had experience at the highest level, special teams experience was crucial, and then coming off his experience as a head coach. He was going to have to get in front of a room, and that room being special teams players and really take charge of a group of guys that are so crucial to our success. When you put that responsibility on somebody, you want to be able to trust that person. And I trust him to have that leadership role. So he brings all that experience to Notre Dame.”
Bringing in new coordinators, assistant coaches, and a new strength staff has paved the way for a new culture. Competition and accountability are at the forefront of the program, which is something that was desperately needed in 2016.
Director of Football Performance Matt Balis has led the charge from the first day he stepped on campus. There is an eagerness to start fall camp from the players and staff this year. That’s been cultivated by Balis for the last eight months.
“I would say the best way that I would put it is they feel like they want to show everyone their preparation,” said Kelly. “I think on more than one occasion I've heard some of our guys say, 'Welcome to my preparation' in the sense that they feel really good about the work they've put in. It's been hard. It's been really difficult. But I think anything that's really good is difficult, and it's been worthwhile for them because they can feel it when they're running. They know they're in great shape. They know that they're physically stronger. They see it. So now they're anxious to be able to now translate it.”
The biggest change could be within Kelly himself as he seems to be content with who he is as a head coach. Kelly has seen the clips of raw emotion on the sideline, but he’s not going to try to be anything different than Brian Kelly this fall.
“My players are going to be in the kind of environment that they're used to with me, and they're going to know who I am,” said Kelly. “If you catch me in a five-second or three-second video clip on TV, then it looks like I'm in a moment with a player, it's not what happens on a day-to-day basis, and I can't control that. TV does what TV does.
“But I'm going to be who I am. My players know who I am. I can't control the rest of that.”
In 2016, Kelly made sure to point out his Irish needed to do the little things extraordinarily well to have a big season. Notre Dame fell very short of doing that last fall and finished 4-8.
Changes were made. Jobs were lost. The culture was changed. All that has been noticeable this offseason as confidence is growing within the walls of The Gug.
Kelly admitted he changed to become a better head coach and it started with his two new coordinators, Chip Long (OC) and Mike Elko (DC), as he stated he got to know both on a personal level away from the chalkboard.
“I don't know that the Xs and the Os were really the eye-opening moments as much as just really personalities and what drives them, and really getting to know them as human beings,” stated Kelly. “Because when you don't have a past relationship with them, you're getting to know them as people.
"I don't know that I've walked in and Mike Elko showed me a defense that I haven't seen before. What he showed me was an incredible attention to detail, a great way to communicate and teach. Chip Long showed me just an incredible veracity to want to be great in everything that he does, and his ability to relay that to the players under his charge.
“So it was really about that more than anything else, than it was an eye-opening experience in terms of a scheme that I hadn't seen before. So it was really getting to know them and where I can help them across the board with my experience of 26 years of being a head coach.”
Another big piece to the puzzle was the hiring of Brian Polian as special teams coordinator. Polian brings head coaching experience but most importantly special teams experience back to South Bend.
“I had a great deal of respect for him coming in,” Kelly explained. “So I think first and foremost, I wanted somebody with a veteran presence, somebody that had experience at the highest level, special teams experience was crucial, and then coming off his experience as a head coach. He was going to have to get in front of a room, and that room being special teams players and really take charge of a group of guys that are so crucial to our success. When you put that responsibility on somebody, you want to be able to trust that person. And I trust him to have that leadership role. So he brings all that experience to Notre Dame.”
Bringing in new coordinators, assistant coaches, and a new strength staff has paved the way for a new culture. Competition and accountability are at the forefront of the program, which is something that was desperately needed in 2016.
Director of Football Performance Matt Balis has led the charge from the first day he stepped on campus. There is an eagerness to start fall camp from the players and staff this year. That’s been cultivated by Balis for the last eight months.
“I would say the best way that I would put it is they feel like they want to show everyone their preparation,” said Kelly. “I think on more than one occasion I've heard some of our guys say, 'Welcome to my preparation' in the sense that they feel really good about the work they've put in. It's been hard. It's been really difficult. But I think anything that's really good is difficult, and it's been worthwhile for them because they can feel it when they're running. They know they're in great shape. They know that they're physically stronger. They see it. So now they're anxious to be able to now translate it.”
The biggest change could be within Kelly himself as he seems to be content with who he is as a head coach. Kelly has seen the clips of raw emotion on the sideline, but he’s not going to try to be anything different than Brian Kelly this fall.
“My players are going to be in the kind of environment that they're used to with me, and they're going to know who I am,” said Kelly. “If you catch me in a five-second or three-second video clip on TV, then it looks like I'm in a moment with a player, it's not what happens on a day-to-day basis, and I can't control that. TV does what TV does.
“But I'm going to be who I am. My players know who I am. I can't control the rest of that.”
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