Brian Kelly

There are some mistakes coaches can’t survive. Brian Kelly made one Wednesday.
Before Notre Dame reaches a financial settlement with the family of Declan Sullivan, the 20-year-old videographer who died in a tragic practice accident, the school must sever ties with its first-year head football coach.

Kelly should not coach the Irish on Saturday when they take on Tulsa.

We don’t need a thorough and exhaustive investigation to recognize Kelly’s negligence. A coach’s most important job, particularly at the amateur level, is to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the safety of the young people under his control.

Kelly failed in the worst way possible.

In recent years, Notre Dame dismissed Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weis for failing to win enough games. The school canned George O’Leary for exaggerating on his resume.

Those "crimes" pale in comparison to allowing student managers to go up in 50-foot-tall lifts to film practice in hazardous wind conditions.

Mitigating circumstances do not matter. Notre Dame’s video coordinator should not be held responsible. Declan Sullivan, who tweeted before and during practice the weather conditions were terrifying and life threatening, certainly isn’t to blame.

The head football coach has final say over everything that transpires on the practice field. Everything. That’s why Ohio State’s Jim Tressel moved the Buckeyes’ practice inside on Tuesday when wind gusts made conditions unsafe.

“I don’t know if we’ll be inside or out,” Tressel told Ohio reporters 24 hours before the Notre Dame tragedy. “It looks a little nasty. I worry about our cameramen, their well-being up there 50 feet in the air.”

That’s the proper mindset of a head football coach. He’s paranoid about everything.

On Tuesday, Kelly and the Irish practiced indoors because of tornado warnings. On Wednesday, Kelly chose to take the Irish out into the elements. Coaches love to say, “If we’re going to play in the North Pole, we’re going to practice in the North Pole.”

That’s fine for the players. Student videographers don’t film games from 50-foot lifts on Saturdays. Not to mention lifts of the kind that aren’t recommended for use in winds above 25 mph.

Brian Kelly: Kelly’s negligence is inexcusable. He ignored the risks. Notre Dame should treat Kelly like a drunk driver whose negligent behavior killed a passenger or another driver. An apology and a financial settlement are not enough.