Ex-Hound Brian Kelly named football coach at Notre Dame

    Assumption College Alumni-Athletics Hall of Famer Brian Kelly ‘83 will be officially introduced as the new head football coach at the University of Notre Dame Friday.
    The 47-year-old former club football standout for the Greyhounds has been one of the hottest commodities in national college football circles for past decade.  He left his winning mark at both Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI) and Central Michigan University (Mt. Pleasant, MI) before leading the University of Cincinnati to a 34-6 record and back-to-back Big East titles.
    He was in New York Thursday to receive the Home Depot National Coach-of-the-Year award after leading the University of Cincinnati to a 12-0 record and the Big East championship.  The No. 3 ranked Bearcats will face the University of Florida in the All-State Sugar Bowl January 1, 2010. Kelly was named the conference’s Coach-of-the-Year in 2008.
    According to several news sources, he signed a five-year contract as the replacement for Charlie Weis.  He is expected to assume his duties immediately.
    Former Greyhound football coach Bernie Gaughan knew Kelly would be successful. He just didn’t know at what. “My thinking was he was going to be one of three things,” laughed Gaughan. “President of the United States, a pope, or the head football coach at Notre Dame.”
    Kelly got his start at the College, which inducted him into its Alumni-Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.  He played middle linebacker, captaining two of the most successful club football teams in school history. The Greyhounds posted an 8-3 record in 1981 and were 7-1-1 the following season under Coach Paul Cantiani '73.
    He earned New England Collegiate Football Conference honors as a junior and senior and finished his career with 314 tackles.
    He later served on the coaching staff under Gaughan for four seasons and also served as head softball coach for four seasons (1984-87), leading the team to two Northeast-8 Conference playoff appearances and its first 20-win season (23-19 in 1987).
    He then won back-to-back national titles and 32 consecutive games in his tenure at Division II powerhouse Grand Valley before moving to Central Michigan and rebuilding that program into a winner in only three years.
    In 2006, Cincinnati brought him in to rejuvenate its program. Despite his extensive defensive background, had become an offensive-minded coach and his no-huddle, spread offense had become a fan favorite at Grand Valley and Central Michigan.
    “He was unbelievable,” said Gaughan. “You knew he was special, even as a freshman he was like a senior.  By the time he finished up, he knew my defense better than I did. He made sure everyone was in the right place.”
    Kelly played for Cantiani’s final two teams at Assumption.
    “It really isn’t surprising that he’s the head football coach at Notre Dame,” Cantiani said. “Everything about the kid---he was very professional about the job, he was enthusiastic, he was a leader, he knew his stuff.”

    Reports from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and several other news media outlets were used in this story.