SOUTH BEND, Ind. _ Notre Dame gave Brian Kelly a contract extension. No surprise. But the timing was unusual.
The Irish on Saturday announced Kelly's extension through 2024 after the first quarter of its season opener against Duke. (And what a bad first quarter it was _ the Irish were outgained 151-7.)
"These terms were agreed upon in December and we planned the subsequent announcement for the Blue-Gold game in April," athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a release. "When the University transitioned to remote learning in March, we decided to wait to make this announcement until we were able to return our attention to football being back in action and I am happy to share this great news today."
Swarbrick said Kelly will lead the program "for the foreseeable future."
The Irish rallied for a 27-13 victory Saturday thanks largely to a defense that spent much of the day in the Duke backfield, racking up four sacks and eight tackles for a loss.
"We needed to wake up a little bit," Kelly said after Notre Dame won its 19th straight home game, its longest streak since 1990.
Kelly made a brilliant decision in the second quarter, calling for a fake punt on fourth-and-8 from the 21-yard line. Punter Jay Bramblett cut back for a 14-yard gain, and the Irish needed just five plays to go the final 65 yards.
Ian Book completed just 19 of 31 passes for 263 yards and an interception. A second pick was waved off after an offsides penalty.
Kyren Williams had a huge game, establishing himself as the top tailback. He rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns and gained 92 yards on two catches.
Kelly is the fourth-winningest coach in school history, and his .735 career winning percentage trails only Nick Saban among active FBS coaches with at least 15 years of head coaching experience.
After Kelly went 4-8 in 2016, Swarbrick showed faith in Kelly, who rebooted by hiring two new coordinators. Since then, Notre Dame has gone 10-3, 12-1 and 11-2 with a College Football Playoff appearance.
Kelly, a three-time coach of the year award winner (2009, 2012, 2018), turns 59 next month. He is poised to become the first Notre Dame coach at the school in his 60s, as others (Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz) burned out.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
