Kelly is not an elite coach

1.) He doesn't recruit players at an elite level. I don't mean he doesn't recruit elite players, I mean he doesn't recruit like Saban, Meyer, Swinney, etc. We have very good players and frankly, I reject the idea that we got smoked last night because of a talent difference, but elite coaches find a way to get stud recruits frequently.
2.) He's not an elite player developer. QB is the most important position on the field, yet we seem to have a revolving door of players who keep getting worse the more they play.
3.) He's not an elite recruiter of assistant coaches. The hiring and retention of BVG is a travesty for the players who were at ND during those years.
4.) He's not an elite X and O strategist. Last night was another great example of this. I don't remember when these plays took place, but I remember at one point we really needed a first down last night and we had a wide receiver to the top of the field, then a receiver in the slot on the same side. It looked like man coverage with the corner playing about 10 yards off the WR. We should have run the slot receiver in motion to the other side to reveal the coverage and then picked on that corner to pick up the first. I can't remember the play we did run, but I know it went to the other side and it was a disaster. Then there was the 3rd and 4 when we threw deep and then went for it on fourth down. If we thought more than three seconds ahead, a different play call may have set us up to succeed on fourth down. On the defensive side, check out the replay of the 60 yard TD run that clinched the game. We didn't have anybody in the gap where they ran. Maybe a player screwed up there, but I couldn't see anybody obviously going the wrong way. Also check out the 3rd and long they converted across the middle. That play can't be open there. I could go on, but I actually agree with Kelly here - four or five plays last night would have made a huge difference in the game. Unfortunately, our players weren't put in a position to execute the necessary plays. That has to be the coach's fault, right?

Coaches can generally be elite by doing any two of those four at an elite level. Pete Carroll, for example, was an outstanding recruiter and player developer, but left a lot to be desired as a strategist. Brian Kelly does none of them.