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He shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as Lou by Gizmo

I get pissed off when I hear anyone say, "Best since Lou," or something similar. Like you said, Kelly has been very fortunate with scheduling and the talent he inherited.

A more accurate statement would be: "Slightly better than Weis. But barely, and not meaningfully."

Here's a fun game. Guess the ND coach:

- 0 national championships
- 0 major bowl wins
- 40% of teams qualify for a major bowl
- 20.5-pt average losing margin in major bowls
- .143 (1-6) vs. Top 5 teams
- 0 Heisman trophies

That's not great, and that's Charlie Weis. Now, duplicate that resume, make a few line items worse, and you get Brian Kelly.

- 0 national championships
- 0 major bowl wins
- 36% of teams qualify for a major bowl
- 22-pt average losing margin in major bowls
- .125 (1-7) vs. Top 5 teams
- 0 Heisman trophies

But yeah, let's get excited about those ~2 extra wins Kelly averages per year (9.27 W, 3.55 L) vs Weis (7 W, 5.4 L). Which evaporates down to just 7.36 W per year once vacated wins are removed.

Kelly's keys to success are lowered expectations, lack of accountability, and occasionally navigating weak schedules before getting curbstomped by talented teams.