A few unsuccessful ND coaches inherited a mess. Dan Devine had inherited Parseghian's team, and won the 1977 championship, but he definitely handed a diminished program over to Faust. Terry Brennan, who nearly won a title in 1954 (first year) did the same thing to Joe Kuharich, who is remembered as the worst ND coach of all time.
Of course, a great coach such as Parseghian or Holtz can inherent a mess and turn it around. The question for Brian Kelley is will he be a Holtz, or simply an Elmer Layden, who inherited a mess and turned it into a winning program but never captured a title.
#Axe to grind