Former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly left the Fighting Irish in 2021 to join the LSU Tigers. His exit divided opinions among fans of the program, as many were not on board with the comments he made at the time of his exit. More than four years after leaving the program, Kelly has spoken about his exit and also shed light on a possible reunion.

“I do,” Kelly revealed on The Indepenedent: A Notre Dame Football Podcast, about him having plans to return to Notre Dame in the coming season. “I have that as one of the stops that I want to make. Obviously, it’s important for me to let them know that I am supporting, and I want to support the program, and I want that out there. And I want to be visible for a day.

“I’m not in there to look at what they are running offensively or defensively. But I just want to show that I have 100% faith and confidence in what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. Not that they need me to validate in any way. But I want the Notre Dame fans to know that I’m 1000% supporting of what they’re doing and how they’re doing it on a day-to-day basis.”

The return has not been confirmed as a coaching move, but just a visit to his former team.

The program’s officials and fans felt betrayed by the way he left Notre Dame for the LSU Tigers. He made claims about him wanting to move to a team capable of winning a national championship, while also revealing that he and the Fighting Irish could not continue because the program had other plans that he was not in agreement with.

Kelly remains the winningest coach in Notre Dame history based on on-field results, with 113 wins. However, 21 of those victories were vacated by the NCAA. Despite the wins, the College Football Playoff appearances, and the undefeated season, Notre Dame fans view him with a mixture of respect and resentment. To them, even if he had to leave for a bigger program, he could do that without disrespecting the place he called home for 12 years. They also felt the move was money-driven, as a 10-year $95 million deal was almost impossible for a struggling coach to turn down.

Kelly’s stint with LSU was not all that successful. He was fired after four seasons and had no National Championship to show for it. Kelly’s successor, Marcus Freeman, has elevated the program more and even led them to a national championship game against Ohio State before falling short. All of this while Kelly’s endured a struggling end to his time at LSU.

After his time there, Brian Kelly was hired by CBS Sports as a college football analyst for the upcoming season. While he tries to repair his bond with Notre Dame, the coach could have ended up causing more damage than needed when he first left them.

Kelly almost caused Notre Dame more damage

Kelly would have even caused more damage to Notre Dame after his exit, as he tried taking Freeman to LSU. Freeman joined Notre Dame in January 2021 as the team’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Following his departure to Baton Rouge, Kelly was making moves to bring Freeman to LSU as his defensive coordinator. However, the Irish spotted his move and quickly promoted Freeman to head coach.

Freeman has a 43-12 record in Notre Dame and has led the program to three consecutive double-digit winning seasons. Under him, the program has made a deep playoff run and seems poised to make a run for the National Championship, something that they lacked during Kelly’s tenure.