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Anger Management Kelly has to go at Notre Dame

Anger Management Kelly ended the season the way he started it, yelling at two different quarterbacks in front of a national audience, meanwhile losing a game he should have won against an inferior team from the state of Florida.

Anger Management Kelly ended the season the way he started it, yelling at two different quarterbacks in front of a national audience, meanwhile losing a game he should have won against an inferior team from the state of Florida.

Only this was much worse. Coach Brian Kelly's Irish had a 14-point halftime lead. (However, this Florida State team had tons more talent that South Florida in the opener.) But the Champps Bowl loss last week had the fans squeamish again.

Leave Tommy Rees alone and start teaching after the game.

Leave Andrew Hendrix alone and start teaching after the game.

Plus, it's gonna be a long offseason with Michael Floyd possibly going in the first round of the NFL Draft and tight end Tyler Eiffort maybe in the second. (Which would give the Irish Floyd, Eiffort, Kyle Rudolph and Golden Tate in the NFL not to mention Armando Allen, if he sticks).

So much for Anger Management Kelly playing Charlie Weis' recruits.

Whoever is the quarterback next season, he won't have five NFL prospects the way Dayne Crist did last year. The cupboard is bare. Run all your screens and draw plays you want with Theo Riddick.

And Crist will be playing for Weis at Kansas. Now Weis had no clue at Notre Dame except for recruiting talent. Somehow, he convinced Crist to come to ND one year after Jimmy Clausen. Both had been megstars in California prep circles. Crist no doubt had watched Clausen's progress.

But Crist signed on anyway and somehow Weis convinced him to stay while Clausen flourished and had one of the most remarkable years for an Irish QB in 2009.

But Crist's best game came last year came in that remarkable overtime loss to Michigan State, which won on a fake field goal in overtime that sent the coach to the hospital with a heart attack. That win turned the Spartans program around and they punctuated it with a big win Monday over Georgia in the Outback Bowl.

Meanwhile, Crist, once one of the highest recruited players in the country, lost all of his confidence and it all came crashing down with the most symbolic play of the Irish season, a fumble near the USC goal line that turned into a touchdown for the Trojans.

Some pundits had the Irish as a top 10 team early in the season.  Many, including Lou Holtz, thought they would run the table after the South Florida debacle and the heartbreaking loss at Michigan.

Didn't happen.

The Irish were humbled at home by USC and demolished in Andrew Luck's home finale at Stanford.

And the final tab of 8-5 has to be troubling.

Weis got ridiculed for underachieving, but his 6-6 ledger in 2009 came against an unbelievable schedule and they had a chance to win every game.

This team left the Orlando field dazed and confused. And what high school stud quarterback would want to come to Notre Dame to play for Anger Management Kelly?

Apparently not Gunner Kiel, who opted for LSU last week.

NBC can't be happy watching its premier sports programming show on Saturdays fall on its face, especially when it really does have the talent to compete, which seemed to be an issue before.

Penn State has a ton of damage control as it seeks out a new leader for the future.

It is time for the cognoscenti in South Bend to do the same.