No one ever accused Brian Kelly of being timid in his public comments.

And now the new Notre Dame coach may have made his boldest statement since coming to South Bend. Appearing this week on a Michigan radio show, Kelly was asked if he would win a national title with the Irish.

"More than one," he answered. "Absolutely."

Kelly was then asked how many titles Notre Dame would win, and he laughed.

"I thought 'more than one' was brazen enough," he said. "I really believe we can get it done here. Maybe I'm nuts, but I like our chances."

You can listen to the entire interview here, and as usual, Kelly has some good stuff to say. He said this year's Notre Dame team is built like a Big Ten team, with some good size on the offensive line and good running backs but lacking explosiveness off the edge. He added, "I think I can recruit to that real quick because of the style we play."

He said the Irish may lean on their defense early, and that he doesn't want to overload quarterback Dayne Crist right away with too much. But he plans on staying aggressive offensively. He said he has approached this job the same way he did at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and Cincinnati, all of whom he led to championships.

"The locker room was a mess when I got here," he said. "It lacked a little bit of discipline and attention to detail. I worked on it right away."

Kelly knows the expectations are high, and that he doesn't have much time to meet them.

"I bought a home just north of the city in a gated community just in case we only win 12 games," Kelly said. "It's high expectations, but I knew that coming in. I don't consider them unrealistic. I think Notre Dame should be fighting for the top BCS billing every year. But there's a fan base out there that wants to see it happen right away."

So can Kelly meet those expectations? Can Notre Dame win one national title, much less more than one, with him at the helm? The Irish haven't won a championship since 1988, or the year many current college seniors were born. They haven't been serious contenders since Lou Holtz left South Bend.

Having watched Kelly up close at Cincinnati, I have no doubts that he'll win at Notre Dame. But there's a difference between going 10-2 and making a BCS game, which should be the goal every year for the Domers, and breaking through with a 12-0 season and playing for it all.

I think he can absolutely have Notre Dame in contention for BCS at-large berths most years once his system in place. But unless Kelly can recruit elite talent, especially on the defensive line, the Irish won't be playing for the crystal football anytime soon.

What do you think? Are national titles still a realistic expectation for Notre Dame in football?