Dame administration that his team would be in position to compete for a BCS Bowl berth. Notre Dame started the first part of the season 4–2, with close losses to Michigan and USC. Many of their wins were also close, aside from a 35–0 victory over Nevada and a 40–14 defeat of Washington State. Sitting at 6–2, however, Notre Dame lost a close game at Notre Dame Stadium to Navy, 23–21. This loss was the second to Navy in the last three years, and would be the first loss in a four-game losing streak to finish the season. The following week, Notre Dame lost to No. 8 Pittsburgh, then lost to UConn at home in double overtime on senior day. The Irish lost to Stanford the last week of the season by a score of 45–38. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate would forgo their senior seasons and enter the NFL Draft. Weis was fired on November 30, 2009, exactly five years after his predecessor. According to Weis' buyout, he was to be paid $6 million then $2.05 million annually until the contract ran out in December 2015 for a total of about $19 million. During that time, Weis made more money annually not to coach the Irish than his successor, Brian Kelly, made to coach the team. After leaving Notre Dame, Weis would serve as offensive coordinator for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs in 2010 as well as Florida under Will Muschamp in 2011 before accepting the head coaching position at Kansas in December 2011. His hiring made him the fifth consecutive former Notre Dame head coach (sixth counting George O'Leary) to be hired as head coach by another FBS school, joining Gerry Faust (Akron), Lou Holtz (South Carolina), Bob Davie (New Mexico) and Tyrone Willingham (Washington). O'Leary was hired by UCF. Brian Kelly era (2010–2021) Brian Kelly became the 29th head coach of the Fighting Irish on December 10, 2009, after coaching Cincinnati to a 12–0 record and BCS bowl-game berth, but he left the team before the bowl game. In his first season, Kelly led the Fighting Irish to an 8–5 record. Tragedy struck early in the season when Declan Sullivan, a junior working for the athletic department, died while filming a practice on a scissor lift in dangerously high winds. Dayne Crist started the season at quarterback but was injured for a second consecutive