Was Notre Dame the ceiling or was the ceiling Brian Kelly?
Joel Klatt asked the right question. And honestly, it’s a question that hangs over both Notre Dame and Brian Kelly like an awning: Was the ceiling Notre Dame itself, or was the ceiling Brian Kelly?
Let’s start with the man.
Brian Kelly has been around forever—21 years, a well-renowned football coach, a transcending play-caller, a quarterback developer. I still remember his days at Cincinnati, then his long tenure at Notre Dame. The résumé is loaded with stability: 113–40 in South Bend, multiple 10-win seasons, and no NCAA mess in a program that had cycled through Willingham, Weis, and Davie.
But here’s the catch: one national championship appearance in two decades of work. And when he finally got to the biggest stage? Alabama smacked them around in 2012. Same story in 2018 against Clemson, and in 2020 when Bama bullied them again. Three big games. Outscored 103–31.
That became the story of Kelly’s Notre Dame. Beat 95 percent of the schedule, but never stacked enough elite talent to actually win the whole thing.
And yet, Kelly kept getting passes. Kept getting opportunities. Until finally, Notre Dame and Kelly decided to part ways. And when he left, the narrative became: maybe it’s not Kelly—maybe Notre Dame itself has a ceiling.
There are arguments for that side:
Academics: Notre Dame’s high standards shrink the recruiting pool compared to SEC factories.
Independence: No conference title game. One less chance for a résumé-boosting win, no safety net after a loss.
Recruiting base: Indiana isn’t Louisiana, Georgia, or Texas. ND has to fight uphill for kids.
Image vs. reality: Lou Holtz nostalgia doesn’t sell to a 17-year-old.
In other words: Notre Dame is built for 10–11 wins, not for a Georgia-level stockpile.
Meanwhile, LSU opened its doors. More boosters, a local recruiting hotbed, less academic red tape. By the time Kelly landed in Baton Rouge, the program already had a pattern: win titles in Year 3 or 4. Saban did it. Les Miles did it. Orgeron did it. The script seemed set: by Year 4, Kelly’s supposed to deliver the goods.
But here’s the twist: we’re in Year 4 now. And LSU just went 9–4, not 14–2. It feels like Kelly is red-lining—revving the engine at 6 or 7 RPMs but not actually shifting gears. If this thing drops to 8–5, does the whole experiment look capped out?
Contrast that with Notre Dame’s current reality under Marcus Freeman.
Freeman’s only two years in, but he’s recruiting at a higher clip—signing NFL legacies like Thomas Davis’s son and Bryant Young’s son, plus stacking more Top-100s than Kelly ever managed. On the field? He’s 3-0 against the SEC already (wins over South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Georgia), with a +10 point differential. And last year? Notre Dame played for a national title, even if they fell short.
It makes you wonder: maybe the ceiling wasn’t Notre Dame. Maybe it was Brian Kelly.
Because when I think about Kelly, I don’t just think about the stability and the wins. I think about the moments it didn’t work out. The losses to the big boys. The lack of accountability in the press room. The distance between him and his players. And now at LSU, the cracks are showing again.
Meanwhile, Freeman feels like the opposite: young, relatable, recruiting juice, and proof of concept against SEC competition. Notre Dame, for all its quirks, suddenly doesn’t look like it’s capped out after all.
So here’s where we’re at: Kelly’s supposed to be the guy to put LSU back on top, to keep the “Natty in Year 4” streak alive. Freeman’s supposed to be the guy running into Notre Dame’s hard ceiling. But right now? The evidence feels flipped.
Notre Dame may still be climbing. LSU may already be maxed out.
And if that’s the case, then the uncomfortable truth is this: the ceiling wasn’t Notre Dame. The ceiling was Brian Kelly.
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