Notre Dame should be 2-0 and not 0-2. They have turned the ball over 9 times in the last two games. People may say the problem is turnovers but more and more I see the problem as Brian Kelly. I have written before that I believe Brian Kelly will not lead Notre Dame to a BCS Championship. I base this on the Peter Principle. In a 1969 book by L.J. Peter and Raymond Hull, the hypothesis is that people will be promoted until they reach a position that they are incompetent to complete. If you are competent at one level, you will be promoted to a higher one and if one is competent there, another promotion occurs until one reaches a level of incompetence.
One principle of competence is that at higher levels, one must have people who function at high levels. Hence, successful college football programs will always have assistants that move on to either head coaching jobs or higher level assistant posts. Kelly, on the other hand, essentially picked coaches that he knew and many who followed him from Cincinnati. His staff is almost entirely composed of men who have worked for him or who he has affiliation with at his previous schools. This is an illustration of the Peter Principle.
Though these coaches had success at a lower level, coming to Notre Dame would not insure their success. Only Tony Alford remains from Weiss’s staff, but he has been switched from running backs to receivers coach. It would be better to have hired coaches who had success at higher levels.
Kelly also seems to play the same brand of football he has at his previous schools. Good coaches have a system that they use all the time. Great coaches adjust their system to the personnel. Kelly seems to be using the same system with little adjustment.
It is clear to me that Kelly is overmatched and will not lead ND to a Championship. I also believe that he will be fired either this year or next. Who should follow? I have written that Skip Holtz should be the next coach for ND. Urban Meyer should also be considered if he is interested and available but rumor has it that he will be the next coach at Ohio State. One more name to consider, Jim Tressel.