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

The program he left, Notre Dame, is preparing for the College Football Playoff national championship against Ohio State on Jan. 20 in Atlanta, under the guidance of Marcus Freeman. The program Kelly joined after leaving Notre Dame in November 2021, LSU, missed this year's College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season under his watch.

For former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, one sentence pretty much spoiled 12 years of success in South Bend. When he shocked the college football world three years ago and announced that he was leaving the Fighting Irish to head to LSU,

Former Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly left the program on bad terms in 2021 when he went to LSU, but he doesn't seem to hold ill feelings towards the team where he coached for 12 years. In fact, Kelly is publicly rooting for the Fighting Irish in the National Championship game vs.

The Orange Bowl was a huge win for that program. The fact that they made it all this way — against Penn State, no less — speaks to the job Freeman has done. To go from losing to Northern Illinois at the beginning of the season to playing for a national championship is unheard of.

Current LSU head coach Brian Kelly had a lengthy stint at the helm of the Notre Dame program. Before this season, Notre Dame’s last title appearance was under Kelly in 2012. Kelly and Notre Dame fell short to a loaded Alabama team. CBS Sports spoke to Kelly at the coach’s convention, and Kelly offered his thoughts on this year’s title game.

"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."

Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU and a better shot at a championship, but it's Marcus Freeman and the Irish who will play for a title.

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.

LSU head coach Brian Kelly did himself no favors when he recently backtracked previous comments about his former team, Notre Dame.

Brian Kelly recruited a good portion of this year's Notre Dame squad, but the LSU football coach swears he isn't jealous.