Brian Kelly Arriving At Downtown LA Hotel (Video)

Now in his third season manning the sidelines in South Bend, Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly suddenly finds himself on the brink of being mentioned in the same breath as names like Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, Devine and Holtz. These five coaches represent the men who have led the legendary gridiron program to its 11 claimed national championships.

With a victory at USC on Saturday, Kelly's 2012 squad will advance to the BCS National Championship Game, allowing ND the opportunity to capture its first national championship since 1988.

After highly successful stints at Grand Valley State, Central Michigan and the University of Cincinnati, the man with the perfect name for a Fighting Irish football coach arrived in South Bend during 2010, with the hope of taking the program to heights not quite reached by his predecessor Charlie Weis.

Kelly has parleyed an undefeated season (in his final year with the Bearcats) into back-to-back 8-5 campaigns with the “Golden Domers,” followed by this season's undefeated mark, which has included impressive wins over Michigan, Stanford and Oklahoma.

Kelly, a Massachusetts native, has spent the entirety of his head coaching career in the Midwestern states of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Based on his early success at Indiana's most famous university, it is a pretty safe bet that this son of the Northeast will remain ensconced in America's Heartland for many years to come.

Friday, per the above iFolloSports.com original video, Kelly was spotted entering the Westin Bonaventure hotel, in downtown Los Angeles, shortly after the Notre Dame traveling party touched down in the City of Angels. Kelly was greeted by members of the Notre Dame Club Of Los Angeles, who were hosting the USC vs. Notre Dame Scholarship Luncheon.

Both Kelly and USC coach Lane Kiffin were speakers at the $100 per plate event.

Here is original video of Kiffin's arrival at the hotel, a few minutes prior to Kelly's emergence from the black SUV.

Come the conclusion of Saturday's colossal game, the 51-year-old Kelly may be one step closer to achieving both Notre Dame and college football immortality.

29 hours prior to Saturday night's kickoff, Kelly seemed to be handling the pressure well, despite being only a day away from the biggest game of his life.