Coach Brian Kelly's interview with the Philadelphia Eagles has Irish fans worried about the future of the football program – some more than others.
It's the first thing you see before walking into LePeep in downtown South Bend – a sign reading "New Year's Resolution - Keep Coach Kelly,"
“I just put it up this morning at 7 a.m. and 50 percent of our breakfast people that come in to eat here say, 'We hope he doesn't leave, we hope he stays.’ I don't know if I'm going to be a Notre Dame fan if Coach Kelly leaves anymore, so there are definitely a lot of people reacting to it," said employee Elizabeth Jarzen, who put up the sign.
"And I think the program has changed tremendously over the past few years and I think it's because of him,” she continued. “I think his players love him, the whole school loves him, the whole town seems to love him and I don't want him to go anywhere,"
"I feel like Notre Dame's reputation could definitely be tarnished and I don't think that's a note you'd want to leave on," said Irish fan Jeremy Whetstone.
"I don't know. It depends on how much money they're offering, everybody's about money these days," said Irish fan Michele Epson.
But some say the football team might still have a shot at a championship title next year even without Coach Kelly.
"I think our chances would still be good because we still might have the same players, so as long as we have somebody that can do the same things he did, we'll be good," said Avian Graham
Kelly is loved by many in this area, but he may not get that same reception in Philadelphia if he does in fact sign on with the Eagles. Eagles fans are notorious for not cutting the coaches any slack, so that would certainly be something for Kelly to think about.
