Entering the 2016 season Notre Dame Football head coach Brian Kelly had to lead the program for the last six years.  In each of those years except one Kelly lead the team to a postseason bowl game.  However, this past season was one of Notre Dame’s worst performances in over a decade.  The team finished 4-8 and was not eligible for a bowl game.  To make matters worse the team was forced to vacate two years of wins, due to academic misconduct during the 2013 season.  At the conclusion of the season the whole institution and its fans were wondering how this could happen to such a prestigious and historic college football program.

At the start of the 2016 season, Notre Dame was ranked 12th, in the AP Top 25 College Football Rankings.  They fell in their opening game to Texas in double overtime.  It was an extremely close game that left many feeling that Notre Dame still had a chance to be one of the best teams in the country this year.  However, it quickly became a pattern for this Notre Dame team to put up a fight against strong opponents, but ultimately always fall short in the end.  This pattern occurred in multiple games throughout the season including against Duke, Michigan State, Miami, and Stanford.  

By the end of the season, everyone around the country wondered what the future held for Notre Dame and their coach Brian Kelly.  However, Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick has affirmed multiple times that Brian Kelly’s job as head coach is safe for the 2017 season.  Now with a strong incoming recruiting class and a clean sheet next season, Notre Dame can only pray that they will have a strong season next year.   

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