A few years ago when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish started to schedule games in the early and mid 2020s against schools like the Texas A&M Aggies and Ohio State Buckeyes, Brian Kelly joked about how great the games would be for fans. Kelly, however, stated that he would most likely be on a beach somewhere sipping on a cool drink.

As we enter year 10 of the Brian Kelly era in 2019, that prophecy is rapidly becoming reality.

Pete Thamel with Yahoo Sports reported this today in a story about Kelly and his legacy at Notre Dame:

Kelly, 57, plans on sticking around South Bend to figure it out. He told Yahoo Sports that he plans to coach out the remaining three years on his contract. “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.

A two-year extension would keep Brian Kelly in South Bend through the 2023 season. It would certainly allow Kelly to coach against the Buckeyes in 2022 and 2023 — a series that is as widely anticipated as any Notre Dame has scheduled in recent years.

Kelly is a polarizing figure in the world of Notre Dame football. While many have grown to love and respect what Kelly has done in South Bend, there are also a fair number of fans and alumni whose disdain for Kelly grows each year — despite a 22-4 record over the last 2 years and double-digit wins in 3 out of the last 4 years.

Kelly doesn’t fit the profile of any previous Notre Dame football coach. He wasn’t fired after 3 or 5 years into the job, but he also hasn’t won a national championship like the other coaches who lasted as long. If BK were to continue to coach through the 2023 season, that would be 14 years on the job, which would be considerably longer than any of his predecessors.