Immediately after addressing his team [mostly undressing], Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly stomped across the artificial turf of the LaBar practice field on Wednesday to take questions from the media.

His patience at threat level Orange, Kelly shrieked through the wind at Brian Hardin, director of sports information for the Irish, to get the press conference started.

Hardin, a true professional, had it under control per usual. But there's no real measure of control to be had when Kelly's involved.

"Brian!" Kelly screamed. "Where do you want ... let's go!"

Five words in, Kelly remembered he doesn't ask for instructions. He never has. That's not how he got from Division II Grand Valley State to Central Michigan. And that's not how I remembered him on a cold January night in 2007 in Toronto.

Following his first victory as Cincinnati coach, an International Bowl win over Western Michigan -- the product of a bold move to leave CMU just before its own postseason appearance to guide the Bearcats to close out the 2006 season -- Kelly left the press conference surrounded by handlers.

Kelly enjoys being handled about as much as a raccoon stuck in a dumpster. Cincinnati picked up on that when this reporter approached Kelly and his entourage in a darkened Rogers Centre tunnel minutes later.

"No more questions," one media relations man said, stepping between me and his charismatic new boss.

"If I want to talk, I'll talk," Kelly quickly responded, putting his palm in the gentleman's face. "What do you want to talk about?"

So we talked. Kelly was candid, unabashed about his ability, giddy to have beaten rival Mid-American Conference coach Bill Cubit for the second time in one season and still a bit raw that those surrounding him tried to speak on his behalf.

Kelly's both the message and the messenger at Notre Dame -- a program that suffered under the former regime and its niche-skilled leader. Kelly gets what the gig entails, which means leaving his fingerprints everywhere, proving there's something backing up his strong words.

Only four days into spring practice, Irish fans, comparing Kelly to Lou Holtz, like what they're hearing. More importantly, the smudges of the new regime are easy to see.