Notre Dame Football: Brian Kelly Makes A Few Changes To The Staff

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are now under two weeks until they open the season at home against the Temple Owls. You’d think that things would be set - right? Well, no... not exactly. The wheel turns my friend, and Notre Dame is changing its staff.

Moving Spots

Brian Polian takes over the Recruiting Coordinator duties from Mike Elston, while Elston is promoted to Assistant Head Coach. Both Polian and Elston retain their previous positions of special teams coordinator and defensive line coach.

The title bump of “assistant head coach” is probably overdue for Mike Elston, who has been with Kelly at Notre Dame since the beginning.

While Rob Ianello was the recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame when Brian Polian was there last under Charlie Weis, it was Polian that really emerged as an all-star recruiter with a commitment from Manti Te’o being his crowning jewel.

Mike Elston has been a very organized coordinator, but there have been some holes and lapses over the last few years. I really like this move for both coaches and Notre Dame.

Family Business

Notre Dame also announced a hire that was done a while back ago. The Irish hired Bill Rees (Tommy Rees’s dad) as director of scouting.

Bill Rees has a fairly distinguished career in football other than being the father of Reesus. One story I saw recently has a Notre Dame tie to it and it comes from the LA Times.

If he had his way, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Stonebreaker might never have gone to Notre Dame.

A two-time all-state linebacker at John Curtis High in River Ridge, La., Stonebreaker preferred UCLA. But the Bruins, he said, rescinded their scholarship offer after other recruits made commitments to UCLA.

"I guess they didn't want a short, white linebacker from Louisiana," Stonebreaker said.

Actually, UCLA would love to have had Stonebreaker, said Bill Rees, the Bruins' recruiting coordinator. "Unfortunately, we were filled up," Rees said. "We just couldn't take everybody."

Notre Dame, because of the uniqueness in which it has to recruit, has got to be able to evaluate its available talent better. Bill Rees has been around the college and pro game long enough, and should help Brian Kelly find what he’s looking for in a recruit.