LSU HC Brian Kelly clears the air on why he left Notre Dame

LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly recently cleared the air on why he left Notre Dame. Kelly's comments about leaving are going viral as the Fighting Irish are in the national championship game.

Kelly left Notre Dame in 2021 as he took the job with LSU. At the time, he said he left the Fighting Irish as he wanted a chance to win a championship.

“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."

Kelly also said 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 do for me," he said at the time, via CBS. "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. OK? And so here we are."

However, ahead of Notre Dame's game against Ohio State for the national championship, he opened up on his decision and said he just wanted a different challenge.

“I wasn’t leaving Notre Dame because I couldn’t win a championship. You can win championships at Notre Dame, but I chose another path because I wanted a different challenge," Kelly said.

Kelly was the coach at Notre Dame from 2010 until 2021 going 92-39 but did have two years where he vacated his wins due to his use of ineligible players.

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Brian Kelly is rooting for Notre Dame in national championship

Although Brian Kelly left Notre Dame, he says he has no hard feelings with the school and is rooting for them to win the national championship.

Kelly says he knows plenty of people still at the school, including players he recruited them. With that, Kelly says he will be rooting for the Fighting Irish.

"I'm happy for all those guys, I pull for them," Kelly told CBS Sports as he exited an American Football Coaches Association meeting Tuesday in Charlotte. "A lot of the guys there that are on both sides of the ball, I recruited. Obviously I want to see those guys win it all, and I think they're in a great position. Totally excited for those guys."

Notre Dame is an 8.5-point underdog against Ohio State in the national championship game.