Notre Dame Football: Can Irish court better coach than Brian Kelly?

Some segments of the Notre Dame football fan base will call for Brian Kelly to be sent packing. But can the Irish actually land someone better?

After the embarrassment of losing the Cotton Bowl in a lopsided 30-3 blowout against Clemson, Notre Dame is looking at the National Coach of the Year in a different light. Brian Kelly led the Fighting Irish to the College Football Playoff for the first time after a 12-0 regular season, but once they confronted another unbeaten opponent there was little that they could do to stop the Tigers.

Kelly has a long history as a head coach, with his unimpeachable tenure at Central Michigan and Cincinnati preceded by two Division II national championships at Grand Valley State. Kelly has generated winners in the past, and the fact that he has put Notre Dame in position to win the national championship on two different occasions speaks to his skills as the manager of a college football team.

It is incredibly tempting to think about how a different coach might take care of business in South Bend. But at this point Notre Dame is hardly the sort of destination that it once was for coaches, and it would be an incredible risk to get rid of a guy who has navigated the difficult waters of the BCS and CFP eras with the Irish.

Given what Kelly has done in South Bend, can Notre Dame actually be able to get that is a better coach than the one they currently employ?