How long was Brian Kelly at Notre Dame? A look at LSU HC’s time with the Fighting Irish

Brian Kelly was the former coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but he left the school to take the job with the LSU Tigers.

After Kelly's departure, Notre Dame hired Marcus Freeman to replace him. Freeman has now led the Fighting Irish to the national championship game. With Notre Dame playing in the title matchup against Ohio State on Jan. 20, many fans are glad Kelly left the school. But how long was Kelly the coach of the Fighting Irish?

How long did Brian Kelly coach at Notre Dame?

Brian Kelly coached the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2010 to 2021. He won several Coach of the Year awards during his time at the school, including the AP recognition in 2012 and 2018.

Kelly was hired by ND after coaching at Cincinnati, Central Michigan and Grand Valley State. With the Fighting Irish, he led the school to one national championship appearance but lost to Alabama.

Kelly finished his coaching career at Notre Dame with a record of 92-39, but the Irish did have two years with all their wins vacated due to the use of ineligible players.

In his final year as Notre Dame's coach, Kelly led the school to an 11-1 record.

Brian Kelly left Notre Dame to try to win a national championship

Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame was a bit of a surprise. However, the former Fighting Irish coach said he left Notre Dame for LSU for a chance to go all the way in the postseason.

“I want to be in an environment where I have the resources to win a national championship,” Kelly said in the spring of 2022, via The Athletic. “And I came down here because I want to be in the American League East."

That quote has now gone viral after the Irish made it to the national championship, as Kelly thought he couldn't do so at the school. The coach, however, also felt like he did everything he could at Notre Dame.

"I felt like I did everything that I could at Notre Dame and they felt like they did everything they could for me," Kelly said, via SI. "I felt like we had both got to a point where this is what they could do, right? This is what I did. And we couldn't get past that. Okay? And so here we are."

As for Kelly, since taking over at LSU, his team has yet to even make the College Football Playoff. He's 29-11 with the Tigers in three years, with LSU only making the SEC championship game once.