Notre Dame Fans Have Brian Kelly to Thank for This Moment

With one game still to win, a program like Notre Dame's, which has and always will base its success only on the pass/fail test of whether they've won the National Championship, is by no means spiking the football. Not even after one of the most compelling games and satisfying wins on the CFP ear. That's said, it's still not too soon for the Fighting Irish to look with fondness at the coach who made next week's opportunity possible:

Knute Rockne. Frank Leahy. Ara Parseghian. Lou Holtz. And should they prevail over the winner of Ohio State-Texas, the Irish can add not one but two names to this might roll call. Marcus Freeman, of course. But Brian Kelly belongs in the footnotes. Because without this duplicitous, two-faced, disingenuous fraud dipping out of this program in the middle of its last playoff run, Marcus Freeman never happens. This golden moment never happens:

Or happens too late to be doing Notre Dame any good in January of 2025.  Or, Touchdown Jesus forbid, happens at some other school. And the Irish would've likely finished their season at the Camping World Bowl where Kelly led them in 2019. Or the Texas Bowl, where he just took LSU to. 

Never let Kelly's contributions - and by that I mean abandoning his team after 12 years in the middle of the playoffs only - be lost in the bright glare of Freeman's brilliance. Were it not for his total disloyalty and complete lack of integrity, this would've been the scene in South Bend all season:

And finally, never let it be forgotten that his reason for ditching UND for LSU was that he wanted the chance to compete for a National Championship. It would take a heart of stone not to laugh. 

Here's the whole story, told in numbers:

Kelly at Notre Dame: Wins: 113, Losses: 40, .739. Bowl games: 5-5

Freeman at Notre Dame: Wins: 33, Losses: 9, .786. Bowl games: 5-1. And counting. 

And just to add insult to injury, Kelly is 29-11, .725, which is lower than his career percentage. So if you were angry with this fat Masshole and his phony, pandering Southern drawl before, let it go. Instead, be grateful. He did Notre Dame fans everywhere a favor to which you should be eternally grateful.