Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly has agreed to a six-year contract through the 2021 season, the university announced Friday.
Since joining the Fighting Irish back in 2010, Kelly has posted a record of 55-23 and was named the consensus national coach of the year in 2012 when he led the Irish to a perfect 12-0 season that fell short in the BCS title game against Alabama. Kelly is coming off another impressive season in South Bend, leading the Irish to a 10-3 record and a berth in this year's BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl.
"In the classroom, in the community and on the playing field, Brian has built the foundation of a great Notre Dame football program - one that reflects this university's values and its unique relationship to the game of football," Norte Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said, via the University's team website. "I could not be more excited about the future of our football program under Brian's leadership in the years to come."
The Norte Dame head coach is consistently brought up for NFL head coaching vacancies, but he has continually reiterated that he is not trying to chase anything else. "I coach football because I believe there are few better avenues for impacting the lives of young men, and I am certain that there is no better place to do that than the University of Norte Dame," Kelly said, via the university's team website. "During the next six years I look forward to continuing to lead a championship caliber program, but more importantly I look forward to continuing to help student-athletes I coach achieve greatness as football players as students and as men who will make a difference in families, communities and organizations they will someday lead."
Kelly returns to South Bend in 2016 as the seventh best active coach in the FBS with a (.737) winning percentage. Kelly has led the Irish to some big games in his tenure but has only posted a 3-3 record in bowl games. The Fighting Irish continue to recruit some of the top talent in the country under Kelly, and with his new contract in place, the Irish football program will now turn their focus to the 2016 season.
