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Yeah... a real low class move, which may come back to haunt him in the future. Waiting until after the game probably would not have made much of a difference in the long run, and would have been the right way to go.
But was it really a "bad career" move?
Kelly has always wanted the ND job. The job doesn't open up that often, and the timing was perfect for Kelly (well, perfect if he had just waited until after bowl game). He has pretty much proved that he could turn Cincy into a Big East powerhouse. What else was left for him? There were no other "big" jobs open for next year. He's now getting the job of his dreams, and the big bucks. It's tough to call it a bad career move when from the persons perspective, he gets the one job he really wanted, and is being paid well to do it. IF he succeeds, he can probably keep his dream job and be "god" until he wants to retire. If he provides the Irish a consistently winning record, fails to deliver the national championship, but still keeps them regularly ranked and getting good bowl games and doesn't have back to back crappy years, it sure won't hurt his resume, since as you have all pointed out, there are many real factors going against ND.
The only way it will really hurt his resume is if he starts having consistent mediocre/lossing seasons.
And his track record indicates that is probably the least likely scenario.
Cincy was always just a stepping stone for him... He had already proven what he went there to prove. There were no other BIG jobs available, and who knows what might be open next year. And maybe, his stock would go down by next year if for some reason his team wasn't as successful (how do you beat a perfect record). Would he ever get this shot again?
So he gets to step up to a high visibility position that has a great tradtion in College Football, a job he has always wanted, and is getting paid the big bucks. And if he can have a perfect season, or even a one loss season some years, he will get the chance at a national championship... not something that was going to happen at Cincy. Even perfect for them wasn't good enough to get a shot. And, there is no guarantee that in the future, one of those other "Dream" jobs would ever be offered to him.
So, was it really that bad of a career move. What would you have done in his position? I guess it's easy to sit back and second guess him, but if you truly put yourself in his position...
But was it really a "bad career" move?
Kelly has always wanted the ND job. The job doesn't open up that often, and the timing was perfect for Kelly (well, perfect if he had just waited until after bowl game). He has pretty much proved that he could turn Cincy into a Big East powerhouse. What else was left for him? There were no other "big" jobs open for next year. He's now getting the job of his dreams, and the big bucks. It's tough to call it a bad career move when from the persons perspective, he gets the one job he really wanted, and is being paid well to do it. IF he succeeds, he can probably keep his dream job and be "god" until he wants to retire. If he provides the Irish a consistently winning record, fails to deliver the national championship, but still keeps them regularly ranked and getting good bowl games and doesn't have back to back crappy years, it sure won't hurt his resume, since as you have all pointed out, there are many real factors going against ND.
The only way it will really hurt his resume is if he starts having consistent mediocre/lossing seasons.
And his track record indicates that is probably the least likely scenario.
Cincy was always just a stepping stone for him... He had already proven what he went there to prove. There were no other BIG jobs available, and who knows what might be open next year. And maybe, his stock would go down by next year if for some reason his team wasn't as successful (how do you beat a perfect record). Would he ever get this shot again?
So he gets to step up to a high visibility position that has a great tradtion in College Football, a job he has always wanted, and is getting paid the big bucks. And if he can have a perfect season, or even a one loss season some years, he will get the chance at a national championship... not something that was going to happen at Cincy. Even perfect for them wasn't good enough to get a shot. And, there is no guarantee that in the future, one of those other "Dream" jobs would ever be offered to him.
So, was it really that bad of a career move. What would you have done in his position? I guess it's easy to sit back and second guess him, but if you truly put yourself in his position...
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