Brian Kelly confident despite 4-8 season: 'I'll be back'

Despite a disappointing season that ended with Notre Dame missing out on a bowl game, head coach Brian Kelly insists he won't be going anywhere for the 2017 season.

"I'll be back, absolutely," Kelly said following the Fighting Irish's 45-27 loss to USC, as relayed by Brett McMurphy of ESPN.

"There was some discussion as to why I'm coming back (to campus) early," Kelly added, according to ESPN's Arash Markazi, "and I don't believe I'm coming back early because I'm getting fired. (Notre Dame athletic director) Jack (Swarbrick) and I always meet at the end of the year, and I wanted to do some exit interviews with our players because I hadn't been able to do that.

"I always stay on the West Coast for the week and then we get into bowl practice, but obviously, we don't have bowl practice, and then they get into exams, so I'm going to use next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to do exit interviews so I can spend a little time and get feedback from our players in terms of some of the things we may need to adjust within our program."

Notre Dame finished the season at 4-8 and will not play in a bowl game for the first time since 2007 when the Irish went 3-9 under Charlie Weis.

Prior to this season, Kelly had never won less than eight games during his previous six seasons in South Bend, including a 10-win year and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl last season. The Irish had their best success under Kelly in 2012 when they won their first 12 games before losing to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game.

While some Notre Dame fans may call for Kelly's removal following such a disappointing season, it's unlikely he would leave unless it was by his own choice. If Kelly's intention is to be Notre Dame's head coach for 2017, then expect to see him roaming the sidelines come next September. That doesn't mean his current staff will remain fully intact, however.

"Everything is on the table," Kelly said. "I think I have to evaluate a lot of things within the program. There are some really good things in place, but I've always felt the blend of continuity and change is the sweet spot. We need to clearly look where that is, because it was off, and so I have to clearly look where that mix of continuity and change is. I'll get to work on it immediately, starting on Monday."