A free article from Bryan Driskel on SI. If you loathe BD or DIII read no farther. I found the article, well written and we'll researched.
Brian Kelly built Grand Valley State into a champion deep into his tenure, can he repeat that success at Notre Dame?
Brian Kelly is going into his 12th season at Notre Dame and he has yet to win a championship. In fact, he has yet to win a playoff game or a championship game. Changes are needed, and surely Brian Kelly is too far into his coaching tenure at Notre Dame to make changes ..... right?
Kelly's first head coaching gig came at Grand Valley State, a job he got in 1991. Kelly made an early splash, leading the Lakers to a 9-2 regular season record and a trip to the Division II playoffs. GVSU lost 36-15 in the first round.
Over the next seven seasons the Lakers were good but never much of a threat to beat the "big boys" of Division II football. Grand Valley State went a respectable 65-24, finishing with a bunch of 2-3 loss seasons, and Kelly went 0-3 in the postseason, with two of those losses coming by at least 21 points.
In years nine and ten, Kelly and the Lakers went just 12-9, including a 5-5 record in 1999. Something had to change, and according to an article from the New York Times the GVSU fans and alums were growing restless. Yes, Kelly was doing a good job but the program wasn't sniffing a championship, and the offense was mediocre, averaging just 29.8 points per game in his first ten seasons.
Again, sound familiar?
Following the 7-4 season in 2000, Kelly became frustrated with his program's inability to take the next step. So he decided to make a major change.
After going 12-9 in the previous two seasons, Kelly and the new-look Lakers went 13-1, losing to North Dakota in the national championship game. A case could be made that had the Lakers not lost star quarterback Curt Anes to a season-ending injury in the first round that would have been Kelly's first championship. Grand Valley State averaged 58.4 points per game prior to Anes going down.
Over the next two seasons the Lakers went 28-1 and won back-to-back national championships. In seasons 11, 12 and 13 of Kelly's tenure at Grand Valley State the Lakers went 41-2 and averaged 44.5 points per game. GVSU averaged 46.7 points per game during its first title season.
Years 1-10 - 77-33-2 record, .692 win percentage, 29.8 offensive points per game
Years 11-13 - 41-2 record, .953 win percentage, 44.5 offensive points per game
Years 1-10 - 0-3 postseason record, 18.7 offensive points per game
Years 11-13 - 11-1 postseason record, 49.8 offensive points per game
What are teams winning titles in college football doing now? Scoring a lot of points.
Brian Kelly built Grand Valley State into a champion deep into his tenure, can he repeat that success at Notre Dame?
Brian Kelly is going into his 12th season at Notre Dame and he has yet to win a championship. In fact, he has yet to win a playoff game or a championship game. Changes are needed, and surely Brian Kelly is too far into his coaching tenure at Notre Dame to make changes ..... right?
Kelly's first head coaching gig came at Grand Valley State, a job he got in 1991. Kelly made an early splash, leading the Lakers to a 9-2 regular season record and a trip to the Division II playoffs. GVSU lost 36-15 in the first round.
Over the next seven seasons the Lakers were good but never much of a threat to beat the "big boys" of Division II football. Grand Valley State went a respectable 65-24, finishing with a bunch of 2-3 loss seasons, and Kelly went 0-3 in the postseason, with two of those losses coming by at least 21 points.
In years nine and ten, Kelly and the Lakers went just 12-9, including a 5-5 record in 1999. Something had to change, and according to an article from the New York Times the GVSU fans and alums were growing restless. Yes, Kelly was doing a good job but the program wasn't sniffing a championship, and the offense was mediocre, averaging just 29.8 points per game in his first ten seasons.
Again, sound familiar?
Following the 7-4 season in 2000, Kelly became frustrated with his program's inability to take the next step. So he decided to make a major change.
After going 12-9 in the previous two seasons, Kelly and the new-look Lakers went 13-1, losing to North Dakota in the national championship game. A case could be made that had the Lakers not lost star quarterback Curt Anes to a season-ending injury in the first round that would have been Kelly's first championship. Grand Valley State averaged 58.4 points per game prior to Anes going down.
Over the next two seasons the Lakers went 28-1 and won back-to-back national championships. In seasons 11, 12 and 13 of Kelly's tenure at Grand Valley State the Lakers went 41-2 and averaged 44.5 points per game. GVSU averaged 46.7 points per game during its first title season.
Years 1-10 - 77-33-2 record, .692 win percentage, 29.8 offensive points per game
Years 11-13 - 41-2 record, .953 win percentage, 44.5 offensive points per game
Years 1-10 - 0-3 postseason record, 18.7 offensive points per game
Years 11-13 - 11-1 postseason record, 49.8 offensive points per game
What are teams winning titles in college football doing now? Scoring a lot of points.
