Brian Kelly to Notre Dame - impact on Tennessee

Mainly on Notre Dame QB commit Andrew Hendrix. Tennessee was defintely on his short list before committing to Notre Dame this past summer. My question is how Brian Kelly's move to Notre Dame will impact Andrew Hendrix's committment - especially considering that he turned down Kelly when he was the coach in Hendrix's backyard at UC. One of the reasons he turned down Kelly's offer may have been due to the spread offense Kelly runs. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I don't think there's any doubt Kiffin & Co will continue to pursue him now. BTW, I know that Kelly was someone Tennessee considered in their coaching search last year. I am very happy we hired Kiffin, but regardless, I'm now even more happy it wasn't Kelly. He seems like a jerk - especially the way he's abandoned his team in the midst of the greatest season in UC's history and what it means to his players and their fans. It shows how much he really cares about them. It's apparent all he really cares about is himself.

about 2 years ago golfballs03 12 comments 0 recs |

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It’ll be interesting to see. Right now, I think UT has been after Rees a little bit more than Hendrix, but either way, it’s worth watching. The one hitch is that it’s Notre Dame; for all we like to poke fun at that statement, there are a whole lot of people who want to go there because it’s Notre Dame. Even during their rough ~~years~~ decades, being a ND football player puts you in a lifelong club that has tremendous business benefits.

As far as his departure from Cincy, I’m going to give a bit before deciding about how Kelly handled that. One the flip side, his players are talking out of the heat of the moment, and whatever he said to them earlier was evidently good enough to get them to win against Pitt and get to the Sugar Bowl in the first place. I’m not excusing Kelly, but I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something behind the scenes that causes coaches to do this (Saban, Petrino, now Kelly, and I’m sure we can think of many more).

by David Hooper on Dec 11, 2009 1:39 PM EST reply actions

well

the rational argument is that this period of time is invaluable to a coach for recruiting. he can spend this month either with a team he has no future with or he can spend it recruiting for his tough upcoming assignment at notre dame.

but i think what is right and fair in the context of this season is to stay on and finish the job at UC. I’m sure he could work out an agreement with Notre Dame and UC.

by golfballs03 on Dec 11, 2009 2:03 PM EST up reply actions

He probably could.

The hitch is that he can’t start recruiting for ND until he’s employed full-time by them. Because of this, I’m sure that ND has specified his starting date in no uncertain terms in the contract.

by David Hooper on Dec 11, 2009 2:43 PM EST up reply actions

Meyer

(said the same thing before departing BG AND Utah)

by TnseVol10 on Dec 11, 2009 2:42 PM EST up reply actions

If I were comitted to ND and I knew Brian Kelly was to be my coach

I would stick. He had his backup playing like a starter at most schools. Dude can coach QBs.

by rblakeh on Dec 11, 2009 3:18 PM EST reply actions

some QBs aren't best suited to run the spread.

I think Hendrix is in that boat. He’s a big kid. Definitely a pocket passer – a plus for getting drafted – and as such, you should go to system that runs the pro-style offense. Picture Peyton Manning running the option – playing at West Virginia or something. ha

by golfballs03 on Dec 11, 2009 5:33 PM EST up reply actions

Pike is also much more of a pocket passer.

by David Hooper on Dec 11, 2009 5:42 PM EST up reply actions

he is

it’s a big deal for kids to go to a program that fits them. obviously Hendrix took that into consideration when choosing Notre Dame over the rest (ND ran the prostyle under weis). so i’m just thinking that may be on his mind, and he could reconsider. or it could be that he is one of those like you mentioned who just want to go to Notre Dame, but i doubt that’s the case

by golfballs03 on Dec 11, 2009 5:57 PM EST up reply actions

I have no idea either.

He was looking beyond ND quite a bit, which may / may not weaken the argument about him being a ND lifer.

by David Hooper on Dec 11, 2009 6:05 PM EST up reply actions

look i live in cincy

save for kiffin, for i am a diehard vols fan, brian kelly is the best coach in america. the best. and hes not a dousche. hes simply…fantastic. not everybody can win at UC. This man did.

by cincyvol6198 on Dec 11, 2009 10:11 PM EST reply actions

yeah i live in ohio too

but i think he only cares about himself. i’m not bitter about him leaving – im bitter about him leaving like he did

by golfballs03 on Dec 11, 2009 10:16 PM EST up reply actions

at least Saban finished!

lol. Seriously though, I don’t think he did anything wrong. cincyvol6198, are you saying that you are a diehard Vols fan but don’t like Kiffin or are you saying that he’s the best besides Kiffin? If it’s the later, that’s such a homer statement.

What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.

-Hank Hill

by Zoltar on Dec 12, 2009 2:24 PM EST up reply actions