Brian Kelly wants to coach five more years at Notre Dame

Even among other Power 5 head coaching jobs, the Notre Dame job is especially intense. A coast-to-coast footprint is required in both scheduling and recruiting, and no matter what you do you’re chasing the ghosts of Rockne, Leahy and all the rest.

All that said, Brian Kelly is on the cusp of becoming the longest-tenured Notre Dame head coach not just in the school’s modern era, but ever. While Bob Davie and Charlie Weis lasted five seasons and Tyrone Willingham just three, Kelly is heading into Year 10. He’s under contract for three more years, which would allow him to pass Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz.

And Kelly told Yahoo on Tuesday he’d like to remain on for two more years beyond that, which would allow him to pass Knute Rockne‘s 13 years in South Bend.

“I may look to see if we can add two more years,” Kelly said, reluctant to offer a specific retirement date but acknowledging the end is closer than the beginning. He’s flirted with the NFL in the past – most significantly with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013. He says he’s moved on from that curiosity because “of the way it’s set up,” as he prefers the more “coach-centric” college model with full roster control. “I think if I’m fortunate enough to go five more years here, I would be very happy,” he said.

Kelly interviewed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 and was linked to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this year, but he’s been consistent in his point that college coaches have more personnel control than their NFL counterparts.

There have been many (present company included) that pegged Kelly for an NFL job at some point, but he’s proven us wrong thus far and apparently plans to keep proving us wrong for the next five years or so.