He's been your most successful coach in the past 30 years, no? I think he's gotten the most out of his teams up until now. As one of our posters used to say about replacing Edsall (before he left), 3 things can happen with a new hire, either he's better, worse, or equal. So what are the odds you will do better? What hire is getting you back to the championship game?
20 years, not 30 (Holtz was forced out by the ND administration in 1996).
I still am not convinced that Kelly will be out after this season. He was 54-20 at ND coming into this season. He might get another season to turn things around.
I hope he does. But, he may have indeed plateaued at ND.
All of ND's legendary coaches (Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, Devine, Holtz) won national championships in their third year at ND. Kelly got them to the championship game in this third year, but lost big and has not been back.
So, the alumni have him on the other coaching career track than "legendary".
Combine that with the fact that about half the fan base has never been on board with him, plus this 1-3 start and.................
Who will get ND back to the championship game? Hell, I don't know. Maybe nobody, ever. But, maybe there is someone out there who can.
That is Jack Swarbrick's job. He better have a short list and be making contact behind the scenes if a change is to be made.
But, to your point:
Hell, why should any school hire a new coach, then? It is too risky. Under that theory, you guys should have kept Paul Pasqualoni. (and no, I am not equating Pasqualoni's record at UConn with Kelly's at ND, just making a point)
The UConn coaching search may have ended up hitting either of the last two of your coaching search trifecta.
Why did you guys take such a risky chance? I know. For the chance to hire a better coach who would get better results.
That is what ND fans want too.
(P.S. I have lived in Baton Rouge for 33 years. I have seen LSU football in the late Eighties and the Nineties when it had 8 of 11 losing seasons. LSU has not always been good. They went from 1958 until 2004 between national championships. They just fired a coach that was 114-34 with a NC. Just about every Tigah fan is happy that LSU fired him and are salivating at the chance to get Tom Herman. If it is ok for LSU to fire Miles, why not ND firing Kelly? Is LSU "arrogant"?)