LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward has a reputation of getting the big fish. He might have missed out on Lincoln Riley, but he has reportedly reeled in the winningest coach in Notre Dame history.
After 12 seasons in South Bend, Indiana, Woodward made Kelly an offer he could not refuse to replace Ed Orgeron. LSU says Kelly has agreed to a ten-year, 95-million dollar contract, plus incentives. He will be formally introduced on Wednesday.
Kelly leaves Notre Dame with 113-40 record. The Fighting Irish still have an outside chance at reaching the College Football Playoff after going 11-1 this past season. He’s led Notre Dame to the 2013 BCS national title game, where they lost to Alabama 42-14 and two College football playoff appearances, but the 60-year-old does not have a national championship on his resume.
College football analysts say that even though Kelly will coach in the toughest division in college football, he’ll have a better base to recruit from and sign the players needed to win a national title.
Kelly should bring some stability to the LSU football program. It was a roller coaster ride with Orgeron and the program got stale during the last few years of the Les Miles-era.
Kelly has won everywhere he’s coached. He won over 100 games at Grand Valley State. Turned Central Michigan into a winning program in three short years and went 34-6 at Cincinnati.
There has been some controversy with Kelly. Notre Dame had to vacate victories for the 2012 and 2013 seasons after the NCAA determined that a trainer did coursework for several football players. In 2010, Indiana investigators determined Notre Dame was at fault for the death of Declan Sullivan, a student videographer, who died when the hydraulic lift he was filming practice from, collapsed from a gust a win that was over 50 miles per hour.
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