Brian Kelly Threatens Notre Dame Might Skip CFB Playoff (Seriously)

Someone needs to have a sit down with Brian Kelly. Making a bold statement is fine, but sometimes we can get a bit carried away.

Kelly … yeah, he got carried away on Friday.

The Notre Dame head coach was asked about the possibility of competing in the College Football Playoff without fans being in attendance, a reasonable question that was not met with a reasonable answer.

According to a tweet from Brett McMurphy of Stadium, Kelly responded: “I’m not sure we’d play in the Playoff if families can’t be there.”

Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly about possibility competing in a @CFBPlayoff game w/no fans: “I’m not sure we’d play in the playoff if families can’t be there.”

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 18, 2020

Wait, what? Come on, get real.

Look, I respect the fact that Kelly is taking the stance that fans should be in the stands — or at least the families of those involved with the program. He is absolutely right, there should at least be limited fan attendance.

But to say you might skip the Playoff if those people aren’t allowed? Yeah, that sounds like a power move.

That’s fine, but everyone knows the Fighting Irish aren’t going to miss out on another chance at a national championship. And they’re certainly not going to skip out on the payday either.

You want to know who loves hearing this news, though? Texas A&M, Iowa State and probably even Cincinnati. Any of those teams would gladly take Notre Dame’s place if they decided to pass up on the opportunity.

Granted, that’s assuming the Irish are still in the conversation come Sunday when the selection show starts.

There are two takeaways here: 1) fans — or at least families — need to be in attendance and 2) Brian Kelly needs to chill out. He’s not fooling anyone.

Follow Clint Lamb on Twitter @ClintRLamb.