Head coach Brian Kelly of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
It’s no secret that the thing that separates Brian Kelly, at least in most fans’ eyes, from the all-time great coaches in Notre Dame history is postseason success. After all, Kelly has never won a major bowl game, let alone a National Championship.
Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine, and Lou Holtz all won at least one National Championship. Leahy, it’s worth pointing out, never won a major bowl game, as Notre Dame didn’t attend a bowl between the 1925 Rose Bowl and the 1970 Cotton Bowl.