Brian "Body Kount" Kelly (HC Louisiana State)

[sandgk]

Similarities and differences between Kelly and Weis:

Differences:
Kelly played football - Weis did not.

Kelly coached his way up through the college ranks - Weis did not.

Kelly has coached both Defense and Offense - Weis was one (O) dimensional.

Kelly is used to actually having to identify talent and develop the same - Weis absolutely never was.

Kelly seems to have a good sense of humor - Weis comes of as, frankly, humorless.

Weis is an arrogant ass - Kelly does not come off that way.

Similarities
Kelly is moderately obese - Weis is Jabba, morbidly, Obese.

Kelly head coached teams have never had great Defenses - Weis: ditto.

 

[tsteele316]

An overweight, arrogant asshole who is bad with the media, thinks he can just outscore everybody and gives little thought to playing defense. You can't make a living long-term winning games 47-45 and 45-44. When your defense sucks, it catches up with you (which it will in the Sugar Bowl).

Sounds like Charlie Weis all over again. ND can have him.

or you could say a Big East coach, building a program of questionable character and borderline at best academic kids, playing in a watered down conference, and winning by just outscoring weaker teams....

I think Michigan fans might be familiar with such a scenario.

 

[Buckeyefrankmp]

or you could say a Big East coach, building a program of questionable character and borderline at best academic kids, playing in a watered down conference, and winning by just outscoring weaker teams....

Sounds like the Bob Huggins years when they were in C-USA.

 

[Oh8ch]

saying they didnt sniff it is slightly misleading, it was a big dispute from what i remember

However much of a dispute there may have been, they did not get a shot. Have to chuckle about that happening to the SEC.

I do believe that so long as ND stays out of a conference they will find it tougher to get into the NC game.

 

[Sportsbuck28]

Differences:
Kelly played football - Weis did not.

Kelly has coached both Defense and Offense - Weis was one (O) dimensional.

Just to add onto this sand, when Kelly played football he was a LB, so he has playing experience on that side of the ball as well.

 

[Buckeye Maniac]

I agree Huggins came off as an asshole...but I have not read or heard of any such criticsm of Kelly. Huggins was a drunk and, from what I heard, sleeping around with some pretty big booster's wife (**cough** Jeff Wyler**cough)...
Kelly is the opposite from all indications. Good family man, devoted to his wife and children and a good Catholic...I just do not see the comparrison between Thuggins and Brian Kelly and if you have information to share to say otherwise, please share...

The on field demeanor of both Huggins and Kelly is similar. As tsteele said, Kelly is building a program arguably just like Huggins' basketball program.

 

[Oh8ch]

Kelly is building a program arguably just like Huggins' basketball program.

If you mean that as I would in thinking of Huggins - win with whatever thugs you can lay your hands on - I can't see ND going in that direction.

Then again, I didn't see UM making they call they made....

 

[Honor&Glory]

The on field demeanor of both Huggins and Kelly is similar. As tsteele said, Kelly is building a program arguably just like Huggins' basketball program.

I'm sorry, I don't see that and I would say that you're just making assumptions basesd on your distance from the city and the program. Huggins and Kelly couldn't be more polar opposites than conservatives and deomocrats...

He is not relying heavily on JUCCO players the way Huggins did and the players he has brought in during his three years do not come close to having the checkered pasts that Thuggins players did. The kids who have been recruited have qualified academically both at UC and through the NCAA. UC is not 'The U'...Kelly has maintained the standard that Minter and Dantonio set years ago. There is nothing 'renegade' about UC's football program as there was with the basketball team under Thuggins and Bob Goin. I try to be fair in all of my arguments/posts/statements to all parties involved. I am not happy that Kelly will be leaving for ND. I was a long time supporter of Dr. Zimpher...I despised Bob Thuggins and the way he ran his program...I tend to call a spade a spade. But in Kelly's case, it just isn't true. Does he argue and fight on the sidelines? sure. he's done it for three years. But off the field he is not that guy. At least, as best I can tell.

 

[ysubuck]

It's interesting that ND is actually INTERVIEWING coaches. It is very much in their best interests not to get into a drawn out search for their next coach. Call Kelly or his reps and make an offer. Who else is out there for ND?

I mean, don't they have to have their guy in mind and then just go and get him? I can see Kelly turning this thing down and staying at Cincy. The Irish are in a world of hurt at that point.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I agree. What was he doing yelling at the kicker. He asked if the kicker could make the 55 yard field goal in bad weather. The kicker, not wanting to say he is not good enough to make it and also to have that can do attitude, says he could make it. Kelly sends him out there and he misses the kick. I think it is Kelly's job to know what his kicker's range is. I think Kelly should know that the kicker might not be able to plant his foot as well on the wet field and the odds of making that would be slim. Don't yell at the kid if he misses it. Someone should yell at him for making a bad coaching decision.

An absolute textbook lesson in poor leadership. He passed the burden of the decision on to his player, then hung him out to dry (to the sideline reporter on national television no less) when things didn't go as planned.

Anyone think, had the kicker made it, Kelly would have told the sideline reporter, "Hey, I had no idea how far this kid could kick it, so I let him make the decision."

I've been something of a fan of Kelly since he seems to be the only one at that school who's resisted taunting Ohio State. This, however, was Weisian in its lack of class.

 

[BUCKYLE]

It's interesting that ND is actually INTERVIEWING coaches. It is very much in their best interests not to get into a drawn out search for their next coach. Call Kelly or his reps and make an offer. Who else is out there for ND?

I mean, don't they have to have their guy in mind and then just go and get him? I can see Kelly turning this thing down and staying at Cincy. The Irish are in a world of hurt at that point.

Exactly. Who knows where tOSU would be if Geiger had interviewed some nobodies, like that Trussle guy from YSU instead of just pulling the trigger on Mason.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

I'm sorry, I don't see that and I would say that you're just making assumptions basesd on your distance from the city and the program. Huggins and Kelly couldn't be more polar opposites than conservatives and deomocrats...

He is not relying heavily on JUCCO players the way Huggins did and the players he has brought in during his three years do not come close to having the checkered pasts that Thuggins players did. The kids who have been recruited have qualified academically both at UC and through the NCAA. UC is not 'The U'...Kelly has maintained the standard that Minter and Dantonio set years ago. There is nothing 'renegade' about UC's football program as there was with the basketball team under Thuggins and Bob Goin. I try to be fair in all of my arguments/posts/statements to all parties involved. I am not happy that Kelly will be leaving for ND. I was a long time supporter of Dr. Zimpher...I despised Bob Thuggins and the way he ran his program...I tend to call a spade a spade. But in Kelly's case, it just isn't true. Does he argue and fight on the sidelines? sure. he's done it for three years. But off the field he is not that guy. At least, as best I can tell.

I agree. Kelly runs a clean program. He has good grad rates and apr. His players don't end up in the newspapers. He's not Thuggins.

Interestingly, I have to wonder whether the UC fanbase's blind worship of Thuggins and trashing demonization of Zimpher is weighing in the back of his mind. He has to wonder that, while he's the toast of the town now, a couple of rebuilding seasons and his clean program won't mean a damn thing to 90% of the fanbase.

 

[BB73]

I agree. Kelly runs a clean program. He has good grad rates and apr. His players don't end up in the newspapers. He's not Thuggins.

With this comment, you're not helping fan the flames in that thread about you on the UC board. :tongue2:

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

With this comment, you're not helping fan the flames in that thread about you on the UC board. :tongue2:

Actually, my groupies over there seem particularly incensed with my defense of Zimpher and description of Thuggins as a drunken, corrupt scumbag. So, I think I'm still covered.

 

[generaladm]

what year did Auburn go unbeaten and not sniff the national title? was that in the BCS era?

what about BCS schools like USC who have only one loss and still don't play in the BCS title game?

Kelly will go to ND...but it won't be for this reason.

The main reason Auburn got "snubbed" was they played perhaps the weakest OOC schedule in history (UL-Monroe, La. Tech, and The Citadel). Sure, there are other schools that load up on patsies OOC, but that trio is a joke. It wasn't hard for other teams to pile up more impressive Ws than AU.

Kelly at UC has committed to playing high profile OOC games to give a boost to the Bearcat's rankings. It payed off this year when they won out. OrST and Fresno St are more impressive to voters than most of the Big East schedule. Miami U and ILL at least have name recognition. Despite that, UC would only have had a legit NC shot if they were one of only two BCS unbeatens, and still might have been snubbed for a 1 loss SEC, P10, or B12 champ. I agree with the notion that Kelly has already grown out of what UC can offer him. There may be talk of a new stadium and facilities, but this is Cincinnati. Any major project inside the 275 loop has a %99 chance of being delayed for years by local politics, and then FUBARed. Kelly's done a tremendous job at UC, but I would bolt if I were him.

I have never met someone who actually knows Huggins and likes him.

I've met a few. All bartenders.