Former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly defends his decision to leave for LSU, but Marcus Freeman’s recent success tells a different story.

Brian Kelly is hated by the Fighting Irish fans. Despite all of that, he is still hoping his former team will win the first ever 12 team College Football Playoff.

"Brian Kelly left Notre Dame because he didn’t think he could win a national title there in the current CFB landscape. He thought LSU would be a better path. His replacement has Notre Dame just 60 minutes away from a title, and Kelly enters next season on a hot seat," said another.

"I'm happy for all those guys, I pull for them," Kelly told CBS Sports as he exited an American Football Coaches Association meeting Tuesday in Charlotte. "A lot of the guys there that are on both sides of the ball, I recruited. Obviously I want to see those guys win it all, and I think they're in a great position. Totally excited for those guys."

Fast forward to Thursday night. Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame didn’t just beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl in thrilling fashion to earn a national title berth — it won the Kelly breakup for good.

Notre Dame is hoping to end a 36-year national championship drought when it meets Ohio State in the College Football Playoff title game on Monday, and

Brian Kelly bailed on Notre Dame to chase a title at LSU, but now that Marcus Freeman has the Irish in the College Football Playoff national championship game, the former head coach wants to hop back on the bandwagon.

When Brian Kelly decided to leave Notre Dame and take the job at LSU, it was a surprise to many. Kelly has now completed three seasons at LSU and he won 10 games in the first two before winning nine games in 2024.