According to sources, a group of influential boosters to the University of Notre Dame recently met with Irish head football coach Brian Kelly and athletic director Jack Swarbrick and asked both men to resign their positions following the tragic death of ND student Declan Sullivan. Sullivan was killed when the scissor lift he was on blew over while he was filming football practice on October 27th. Both men declined to do so during the contentious meeting.
The main problem the boosters had was with the decision by Kelly to hold practice outside, and further have a student filming the practice high up on a lift, on a day when winds reached as high as 51 miles per hour. One booster even asked Kelly how he could be unaware the conditions were so bad. Kelly responded that he did not know the severity of the conditions. Kelly has taken responsibility for the decision to practice outdoors, but neither Kelly nor Swarbrick can explain who told Sullivan to use the lift to film practice and who failed to make him come down when the winds became dangerous.
Currently an investigation is ongoing with the university and Kelly cooperating. The Irish haven't used the LeBar practice facility since the accident, but should get back on it soon.
While these 20 or so boosters have some influence, it's hard to see how they could wield enough influence to force Kelly or Swarbrick to lose their jobs. But whenever enough money enters the picture, anything could happen. As it stands, the situation at Notre Dame continues to get uglier by the day.
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