.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
Notre Dame AD responds to rampant Brian Kelly hot seat rumors
At 2-5, Notre Dame has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2016 college football season.
The Irish have completely collapsed, with losses at home to 2-4 Michigan State, 3-4 Duke and a limited Stanford team that was playing without its best player in Christian McCaffrey.
Add in an opening-week loss at Texas, a putrid 10-3 loss at NC State in a hurricane, the firing of their defensive coordinator and a mismanaged quarterback controversy, and it's not hyperbole to say this season has been a disaster in South Bend.
All of which has fueled speculation that head coach Brian Kelly is on the hot seat, a sentiment that has grown stronger with each loss. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick is trying to put an end to all of that, telling ESPN.com's Matt Fortuna:
"Brian will lead this team out of the tunnel opening day next year ... I can tell you I continue to have complete confidence in Brian. I think you really see what you've got in a coach with how they manage times like this, and I think he has done a great job of it."
Kelly has gotten heat for his sideline antics and how he's seemingly cast blame on players and other coaches, but Swarbrick refuted the idea that there's a separation between Kelly and the rest of the program.
"I understand the perception ... but the reality couldn't be further from it," Swarbrick told ESPN. "I'm not going to reveal the nature of the postgame discussion between Brian and the team after Stanford [a loss on Saturday], but that was a discussion between a coach and a team who really care about each other and have a great relationship, and that's what I get to see every day.
"His focus has been really laser sharp, his relationship with this team is probably as strong as any that I've seen with him at Notre Dame, and those are all positives ... This is a pretty remarkable team in terms of its togetherness and its resiliency. They still come to every practice energized and focused. And as Brian has said repeatedly, they do everything we ask. They give us everything."
One thing working in Kelly's favor is he just signed a contract extension this past January that runs through the 2021 season and presumably carries hefty terms (Notre Dame, as a private institution, does not have to disclose financials).
There's also the relative results -- Kelly is 57-28 in his seven years at ND and took the Irish to a national championship game. He's been the most successful coach they've had since Lou Holtz.
So it appears Kelly will survive this season, not matter how horrid it gets. Next year, though, might bring restlessness if Notre Dame isn't better.
