By the time news dropped that Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly will take over at LSU, the current Fighting Irish coaching staff and players were left in the dark.
The news may have been shocking to fans, but it was reportedly even more shocking to the people who worked with and played for Kelly. The Athletic’s Matt Fortuna spoke with various Notre Dame staff members on Monday following the news, and many of them found out the same way fans did — through a news notification on Twitter.
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One assistant was visiting a recruit’s home tonight, coincidentally. He saw the news on his phone as he was leaving the recruit’s house.
This is usually how these things go, but Brian Kelly has ghosted everyone at Notre Dame. Just spoke to one assistant who saw reports on his phone tonight as he was exiting a recruit’s home: “The news broke when I walked out of the house, so I look like a f—– a–hole.”
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) November 30, 2021
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Fortuna later posted a text screenshot of a message Kelly sent to the Notre Dame roster. He plans to meet with the Notre Dame team Tuesday morning, per the text. Here’s the full message:
Kelly “ghosting” his now former co-workers is nothing new in the college football world. This happens often whenever a coach leaves their school.
However, it doesn’t help that just a week ago, Kelly told reporters that he had no intentions on leaving Notre Dame any time. His contract extension that he signed in 2020 was supposed to run through 2024. So, his coaching staff definitely didn’t see this move coming.
Brian Kelly literally did the Irish Goodbye to Notre Dame
— BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) November 30, 2021
Notre Dame football players largely haven’t posted about their coach leaving the program. They were not made aware of the change beforehand either, reports indicate. The coaching staff at Notre Dame also haven’t made any posts about Kelly leaving.
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There has been no official statement from Kelly or LSU on the coaching change.
An announcement is expected as early as Tuesday.