Clashmore Mike staff writer Anthony Pilcher was interviewed Saturday on the Joe O. & Rock show on 670 The Score regarding the hiring of Brian Kelly as the head coach at Notre Dame.

What follows are some further responses and elaboration on questions from the interview. The audio of the interview itself can be found at the bottom of this article.

On Brian Kelly’s Impact …

In the cacophony of opinions and numbers shouted in the media by long-time Weis-haters and Notre Dame detractors, Notre Dame Nation is best served by reviewing where we were in 2005. Students and alumni were detached from the football program. High school coaches had been shunned and were reluctant to recommend their players choose Notre Dame. Potential recruits were choosing other summer football camps. Irish …

Notre Dame couldn’t complete the comeback Saturday, falling 27-22 to Pitttsburgh at Heinz Field. The Irish offense sputtered for three quarters while the defense kept the score close in the early going.

For the second consecutive week, the team looked unprepared and unmotivated until the fourth quarter. This final 15 minute period showed some potential for the Irish, but head coach Charlie Weis hasn’t found …

The Irish lost another heart-breaker in South Bend Saturday. The latest defeat at the hands of the Trojans makes it eight straight and 0-5 for head coach Charlie Weis against one of Notre Dame’s chief rivals.

In many respects, this game was more of the same. Numerous missed tackles and breakdowns in the secondary combined for poor defensive play while the offensive line continued to …

The beginning of Fall practice marks the end of a long off-season for Notre Dame football.

After limping through the second half of the 2008 campaign, questions surfaced about head coach Charlie Weis’ job security. Despite this, the Irish coaching staff hauled in a solid—albeit not great—recruiting class, and subsequently underwent several coaching changes.

If the Hawaii Bowl is any indication, the offensive woes of …

A relatively young off-season has brought a host of changes to the Notre Dame football program.

The Irish landed a solid, albeit not great, recruiting class and three new coaches were hired to replace offensive line coach John Latina, defensive line coach Jappy Oliver, and offensive coordinator and running backs coach Mike Haywood.

A more detailed discussion of these coaching changes is forthcoming, but the …

With the offense out of the way, it’s time to move on to the defense.

For comparison purposes, the mid-year defensive review can be found here. The numbers haven’t changed appreciably, neither has the season story for the defense.

Most pre-season prognosticators believed the Achilles’ heel of the Irish defense would be stopping the run. While the numbers show this to be a weakness, the …

It was a bipolar affair for the Fighting Irish against Navy (more on this here).

On special teams the Irish made both attempted field goals, held the Midshipmen to negative punt return yardage, and blocked a punt. However, they also allowed two consecutive onside kicks to be recovered despite the painfully obvious situation in which they occurred.

On offense the Irish ran the ball at …

The story for the Irish this year is completeness, as in playing a complete game. The pieces are present—a dynamic vertical passing threat, a recently developed dependable kicking game and solid defense, excellent special teams coverage units, and talent at nearly every skill position—to be a good team, but Notre Dame has yet to put it all together.

I’m not talking about an elite team, …

After a heart-wrenching loss to Pittsburgh, Notre Dame hits the road for the second time in three weeks traveling to the East coast to take on Boston College. The Eagles have owned the series in recent years, but the Irish look to redeem themselves after squandering a two-touchdown lead last week.

Entering Saturday’s contest, neither team has proven much as both have 5-3 records against …