I was thinking about how Kelly has made very few "good" offensive hires in large part due to him not letting go of the offense imo. I know he has strengths since he has won big everywhere he has been. Obviously there are weaknesses and then areas that he's improving.
Strengths
1. Developing a culture of winning - installing a culture of winning is not easy. I love his business or the "process" approach. He knows how to build a program
2. Ability to adapt if he deems it's needed - He made big changes at GVSU and not too long after he won a title. He obviously made big changes after 2016. Not every coach can do this. See below.
3. Recognizing defensive trends after 2016 - BVG sucked but outside of him the hires have been A+. Diaco was very good while at ND. Elko/Lea brought a dramatic change in scheme and system when they came to ND. Not a lot of teams were running a 4-2-5 in big boy ball. I give him credit for recognizing the merits of the system and the coaching talent of Elko/Lea. I think Kelly is doing it again with Freeman and his 3-3-5. Time will tell but I think this will be shown to be another outstanding defensive hire.
4. Handles the off the field duties- He seems to be able to handle all the off the field demands that make this job harder than any other major CFB job. His work with ND's administration has been masterful. He has upgraded this job to make it enticing for a big name coach.
Weaknesses
1. Slow to make changes - He has been too loyal to some of his coaches imo when it was obvious that they weren't getting it done. BVG, Del Alexander, Autry Denson for example.
2. Stubbornness on his offense - Why won't Kelly turnover the offense like he has the defense? The defense has been his calling card at ND. He just so happens to have a hands off approach on defense. The offense, which was his strength supposedly, has been mediocre or above average every year.
Improving
1. Recruiting - He has become much more involved in recruiting. The results have been positive but he needs to keep it up.
I know I have contradicted myself a bit with adaptability as a strength and a weakness. The key phrase is when he "deems it necessary".
What would your list look like?
Strengths
1. Developing a culture of winning - installing a culture of winning is not easy. I love his business or the "process" approach. He knows how to build a program
2. Ability to adapt if he deems it's needed - He made big changes at GVSU and not too long after he won a title. He obviously made big changes after 2016. Not every coach can do this. See below.
3. Recognizing defensive trends after 2016 - BVG sucked but outside of him the hires have been A+. Diaco was very good while at ND. Elko/Lea brought a dramatic change in scheme and system when they came to ND. Not a lot of teams were running a 4-2-5 in big boy ball. I give him credit for recognizing the merits of the system and the coaching talent of Elko/Lea. I think Kelly is doing it again with Freeman and his 3-3-5. Time will tell but I think this will be shown to be another outstanding defensive hire.
4. Handles the off the field duties- He seems to be able to handle all the off the field demands that make this job harder than any other major CFB job. His work with ND's administration has been masterful. He has upgraded this job to make it enticing for a big name coach.
Weaknesses
1. Slow to make changes - He has been too loyal to some of his coaches imo when it was obvious that they weren't getting it done. BVG, Del Alexander, Autry Denson for example.
2. Stubbornness on his offense - Why won't Kelly turnover the offense like he has the defense? The defense has been his calling card at ND. He just so happens to have a hands off approach on defense. The offense, which was his strength supposedly, has been mediocre or above average every year.
Improving
1. Recruiting - He has become much more involved in recruiting. The results have been positive but he needs to keep it up.
I know I have contradicted myself a bit with adaptability as a strength and a weakness. The key phrase is when he "deems it necessary".
What would your list look like?
