Notre Dame Football: 5 early candidates to replace Brian Kelly
What a year it’s been for some of the nation’s top football programs. It seems as if no blue-blood is safe from the coaching carousel, and that includes Notre Dame football.
The Irish might just be in the market for a new head coach which is a shocking turn of events.
Yes, you read that correctly, Notre Dame might just be looking for a Brian Kelly replacement and it’s not because the Irish have fired him.
According to reports, LSU has poached Kelly from Notre Dame.
Sources: LSU is expecting to hire Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly as the school’s next head coach. An announcement could come as early as tomorrow.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 30, 2021
After this shocking news, who should Notre Dame be targeting as the next head coach?
5. Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin DC
One name that probably doesn’t get enough love in coaching searches every offseason is Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
The 39-year-old defensive coordinator for the Badgers constantly has Wisconsin ranked near the top of the Big Ten, and nationally, in scoring defense and total yards per game. The former NFL linebacker has done an incredible job with this defense and honestly he probably could have been Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator this past offseason when they were looking for Clark Lea’s replacement.
Leonhard has the perfect hard-nosed attitude for Notre Dame and as long as he can recruit at a high level, I think Irish fans would love him in South Bend.
How good is he? In his first season as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator, he was a finalist for the Broyles Award which is given to the nation’s top assistant coach. He would be a good fit here for the Irish, but he’s probably on the outside looking in here.