He's hired three during his 11 years in South Bend ( Bob Diaco, Mike Elko, Lea). What makes this hire unique is that Kelly fought as hard as he did to get Freeman, and that Notre Dame was able to be competitive financially to make this move. These two aspects of this hire should excite Notre Dame fans, and give them hope that Kelly is willing to swing a big stick if it means giving the program a chance to improve, which means getting closer to truly competing for a title. Losing Lea and possibly improving at the position was going to be extremely hard, but a case could be made that Freeman is in fact an upgrade when you consider his coaching success with his reputation as a recruiter. This hire means Notre Dame should keep rolling on defense, if not get even better. If Kelly now turns his attention to the offense and makes a commitment to make the necessary changes on that side of the ball, this hire could go down as the first move that got Notre Dame over the final hurdle.