Brian Kelly, like Urban Meyer, has a quarterback conundrum this year. Unlike Urban Meyer, his decision is not between three world-destroying quarterbacks, but rather, a shellshocked veteran and a former four-star recruit who has yet to permanently supplant him.
Not that Kelly's predicament is surprising to anybody paying attention. Here's an example of Kelly's coaching, delivered moments after 10th-ranked Notre Dame's playoff hopes got torched by two touchdowns in Tempe. It was a game in which Kelly's star pupil, Everett Golson, committed six turnovers against Arizona State's 80th-ranked defense.
Reporter: Brian, how can you, I know they're not all on Golson, especially the picks, but the fumbles, consistently-
Kelly: Why aren't they all on Golson?
Reporter: Well, a couple were hit from behind, you mentioned a lineman didn't cut the defensive end when one gets tipped-
Kelly: Right, that one, yeah
Reporter: The second pick-six went off of Robinson, it was a little behind him-
Kelly: Yeah, it was, he should have caught that ball.
Reporter: So not all six turnovers were on Golson-
Kelly: No, I agree.
Gee, if only somebody was literally paid millions of dollars¹ to coach this hapless "amateur" athlete.
And sure, he walked it back two days later — calling Gholson's mistakes "correctable" — but then Notre Dame lost three more games.
By comparison, Cardale Jones committed three turnovers against Oregon, and Ohio State won the title game by 22. That's the difference in elite coaching and "eh" coaching.
And that's why I laughed today, when I saw this load of garbage Brian Kelly dropped on reporters after (I assume) unhinging his jaw:
#NotreDame HC Brian Kelly basically says he'd take his QBs over anyone's, including Ohio State's. Does note #Buckeyes' depth, though.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) April 15, 2015
Ohio State's depth didn't just fall out of the sky.
Sure, Urban got lucky with Braxton Miller, but he improved every year he played. You can't say the same about Everett Golson, just like you can't say the same about Malik Zaire's readiness that you can about J.T. Barett's or King Cardale's.
Ohio State winning a title with its "third-string QB" wasn't dumb luck.
I'd normally write this off as "a coach protecting his guys," but Kelly has proven time and time again he doesn't give a damn about that. I think he's self-deluded himself to the point he honestly believes this tripe, because the alternative is a harrowing look at the man in the mirror.
And I wouldn't be surprised if Brian Kelly's house didn't contain a single mirror. It would make a five-loss offseason much more tolerable, after all.
¹ Notre Dame is not a public school, so its coaching salaries aren't public. For the sake of argument, I'm assuming Brian Kelly makes at least $2.5 million annually. (That's Pat Fitzgerald range, folks.)
