The glamorous Notre Dame we see with Marcus Freeman as head coach and Jeremiyah Love as one of the best prospects was not always this way. There used to be days of fewer wins and substandard facilities. However, so much changed after Brian Kelly took charge of the team, and Urban Meyer thinks Kelly does not get enough credit for his exploits at Notre Dame.

“But I don’t think Brian Kelly gets enough credit,” Urban Meyer said on the most recent episode of Triple Option. “He changed that. What I’ve seen, the facilities, I think you guys are getting another one. It’s the best version of Notre Dame in my lifetime right now.”

Brian Kelly coached Notre Dame between 2010 and 2021, and left after five consecutive 10-win seasons with an overall record of 113-40, as the winningest coach in school history. He also led the program to a BCS National Championship game before eventually leaving the Fighting Irish for the LSU Tigers.

Still, many in South Bend feel his sudden, controversial exit erased those achievements. Fans quickly pointed to his inability to win the big one, claiming he lacked the edge to capture a national title despite multiple playoff trips. But beyond the trophies, Meyer pointed out some internal reforms and changes Kelly made behind the scenes to put the program in a competitive position again, as things were really bad in the past.

“In 1996, Coach Holtz hired me. Notre Dame, back then, they didn’t have a training table. The players had to stay in the dorms for four years. A lot of the dorms were not air-conditioned. They did not pay the coaches. We got paid about half of what other coaches got paid. They refused to give us cell phones,” Meyer further stated.

“The facilities were awful, I mean, horrible. Infested with stuff, and just really bad. But it was a mindset that we’re Notre Dame; we don’t have to do like everybody else.”

Upon his exit, he cited his desire to coach a team with better resources and his longing for a national championship as his reasons. He famously called out the program for having a lower ceiling for success. It felt like he wanted more than they could give, and both parties could not reach an agreement anymore.

Sadly, none of his desires were fulfilled after joining LSU, as he was eventually sacked for the same thing Notre Dame fans criticized him for: his inability to win trophies. Again, Meyer was his spokesman at the time of his sacking, criticizing the program for its actions.

Urban Meyer defends Brian Kelly after the LSU sacking

Brian Kelly’s time in Baton Rouge ended abruptly in October 2025. Following a blowout loss to Texas A&M that dropped LSU to 5-3, he was fired. Reports quickly surfaced that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry heavily influenced the decision, turning a purely football-related move into a political power play. But regardless of Kelly’s trophyless record, Meyer felt his sacking was a wrong decision by the program.

“As a person that’s gone through the circuit and how you deal with it,” Meyer said on Triple Option. “I have very strong opinions about non-football people making football decisions…. So discipline, offseason, recruiting strategy, class attendance policy, coordinator hires; are those all going to run through the governor now? And people say, ‘Well, of course not.’ Well then, how are you making decisions?”

Urban Meyer’s defense highlights a forgotten truth: Kelly rebuilt Notre Dame’s infrastructure from the ground up. But for fans feeling burned by his exit and validated by his recent LSU collapse, those behind-the-scenes renovations will never outweigh the missing championship hardware. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.