Kelly’s coaching record is impeccable, with two Division II national championships at Grand Valley State, the rebuilding of the Central Michigan program in three seasons and two Big East titles and a 34-6 record in three seasons at Cincinnati.
He has done things the right way from an honesty standpoint, as well. Give Kelly credit for not proclaiming he would stay with Cincinnati and then bolting for Notre Dame. All along, Kelly said he would be receptive to the Irish once the regular season ended. He was true to his word and should be commended for that.
Of course, not everyone sees it that way. Cincinnati star wideout Mardy Gilyard told The Associated Press, “He [Kelly] went for the money.” And tight end Ben Guidugli said, “It’s like somebody turned their back on us.”
Their disappointment is understandable. Coaches have used the Cincinnati job as a launching pad in the past, but that was before the Bearcats joined the Big East. In the past two seasons, Cincinnati is 23-3 with two Big East championships. This year they were only one or two breaks away from playing for a BCS Championship.
Then again, maybe that is the problem. Even though Cincinnati ran the table in a “Big Six” conference, not a single media member believed the Bearcats were worthy of playing for the BCS Championship. Next season, if Notre Dame goes undefeated and is not selected to play in the BCS Championship Game, there will be a chorus of outcries from media and famous alums alike.
Still, Cincinnati isn’t some second-rate school from a sub-BCS conference or a flea-ridden school on NCAA probation. It is a legitimate program in a BCS conference. If Cincinnati can’t keep a coach, then who can?
It seems like there are only a few jobs (Florida, Notre Dame, USC, Ohio State, Texas) that every coach in the country is jostling for.
In 1986, John Cooper led Arizona State to a Pac-10 title. The next year he left for Ohio State.
In 1989, Steve Spurrier led Duke to an ACC title, then left for Florida.
In 1996 and 1997, Mack Brown led North Carolina to a 20-3 record, then left for Texas.
Brian Kelly just left an undefeated (and back-to-back Big East champion) Cincinnati team for Notre Dame.
The last two coaches to win the Big East title (Rich Rodriquez and Brian Kelly) both left for their "dream jobs." It’s understandable for a coach to leave a MAC school to coach in a BCS conference, but once you are at the table with the big boys, there is no reason to double down and move on to another school.
It takes talent and a big ego to be a successful college football coach. At the end of the day, college sports is a business and these coaches are no different than CEOs — most would leave their team (or company) for a better job in a heartbeat.
The exceptions are rare. Kirk Ferentz has stayed at Iowa even though he has reportedly been offered other positions through the years. Jim Harbaugh just extended his contract with Stanford, even though he is a hot coaching prospect. Coaches should be commended for staying at one school for a long time.
Other coaches may have made more money, but think about how different their legacies would be if they had stayed and had long-term success at one school. Rodriguez could have been the Mike Krzyzewski of West Virginia, but he gave that up for a little more money at a higher-profile college.
Coaches can change jobs whenever they want, just as anyone in this country can. The question really is what their ultimate goals are and how they deserve to be treated. If your goal is to have an opportunity to coach at a Notre Dame or Texas, then you have the right to do whatever it takes to get there. On the other hand, these coaches ask so much out of their players, to turn around and leave them for a bigger school can easily be construed as a slap in the face. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
And then there's this thought: If Colt McCoy had taken
one more step before throwing the ball away against Nebraska, and
Cincinnati had ended up in the BCS Championship Game, would Kelly still
have left?
In 2003, Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim told ESPN, "There are a couple of jobs that I would really like to try, but you'd have to leave to do that. … And I really never wanted to go anyplace else."
The coaching circle would be a better group if more of Boeheim’s peers had this same philosophy.
