Brian Kelly Says He was ‘Mischaracterized' in Perceived ND Criticism

Former Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly is seeking to clarify what many took to be his criticism of his former school.

Kelly, who left Notre Dame in 2021 for LSU and was fired by the Tigers during the 2025 season, told “The Independent” podcast that he “didn’t leave Notre Dame because they couldn’t win a national championship.”

“Those words never came out of my mouth,” he said.

Instead, people “mischaracterized” him, he explained.

“What I said was, ‘If I’m going to leave, I’m going to go to a place that can win a national championship,'” he said. “And that was perceived as being, ‘Oh, he doesn’t think he can win one here.'”

Brian Kelly’s title-chasing didn’t pan out

In his decade-plus in South Bend, Kelly regularly was in the conversation for a national title, winning at least 10 games in seven of his 12 seasons.

He also played for a national championship to conclude the 2012 season, though the Fighting Irish were trounced 42-14 by the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Notre Dame also made the College Football Playoff in 2018, losing 30-3 in Cotton Bowl to eventual national champion Clemson, and in 2020, falling 31-14 in the Rose Bowl (played in Arlington, Texas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic) to eventual national champion Alabama.

After that series of defeats, some in the college football world thought Kelly might depart, fearing the independent Fighting Irish might never be on par physically with the sport’s powers.

Heading to LSU, that talent gap should not have been an issue, but Kelly never took the Tigers into the playoffs.

Despite 10-win seasons in his first two years, he finished 9-4 in 2024 and was fired with a 5-3 record in 2025 after a 49-25 home loss to the rival Texas A&M Aggies.

After that humbling stint in Baton Rouge, Pete Sampson, a cohost of “The Independent,” reported for The Athletic that Kelly is planning a return visit to South Bend.

Unfortunately for Kelly, though, that top job is currently held by Marcus Freeman, who very nearly brought a title back to Notre Dame in his third season with the Fighting Irish.

Despite falling behind early, the Irish were oh-so-close to pulling off a huge comeback against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national championship game following the 2024 season.

They ultimately lost 34-23, and the Irish remain without a national title since 1988.

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This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 1:09 PM.