BILLINGS — Bobby Kennedy is greatly anticipating running out of the Topel Tunnel for the first time as head football coach of the Montana Grizzlies.
Just one year ago, Kennedy, 59, couldn't have envisioned this. He'd recently been hired by Bobby Hauck to coach UM's wide receivers, a position group he'd overseen at five previous programs dating back to 2004.
But life can take crazy turns. And now Kennedy can't wait to make the jog onto the field at Washington-Grizzly Stadium — with his own team — on the night of Aug. 29 when Montana opens its season against Southern Utah.
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"I'd be less than honest if I didn't say that I'm really looking forward to that first game and running out as the head coach and being around my team," Kennedy said. "When I started as wide receivers coach last year, I’d never been in Washington-Grizzly Stadium before, and then having the opportunity to coach as an assistant in that environment, you realize how special it is.
"Obviously our fan base is unmatched. There’s a reason why they call it the Mecca of FCS football, and so I’m really looking forward to it, and really, really privileged to be in this position."
Kennedy was named Montana's head coach after the sudden and surprising departure of Hauck in early February. Kennedy was first awarded a one-year contract, seemingly as a stopgap option to keep the team intact in the midst of a big transition.
But UM's athletic administration soon saw Kennedy's real value as a magnetic personality, an in-state recruiting hawk and the kind of coach that players absolutely love.
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Thus, Kennedy's contract was amended into a four-year deal at the end of June. Now he has job security and the faith of the decision-makers to keep the program firmly in its place as a national power.
The fact that Kennedy hadn't experienced Washington-Grizzly Stadium until last season makes this all feel even more sudden from the outside looking in. It's a fan base and a game day atmosphere that can rival the most rabid in the country.
And with that come intensely high expectations. A year ago, the Grizzlies finished 13-2 and at one point were ranked No. 2 in the country. But there was still a sense of foreboding, mostly because their two defeats were to archrival Montana State in the two biggest games on the schedule — including in the playoff semifinals.
"We lost the wrong two games," Kennedy later said.
Griz fans are incredibly passionate. But they can also be exceedingly fickle. Frankly, they're starving for a national championship that has eluded the program for 25 years.
How does Kennedy plan to manage expectations, knowing that anything less than beating the Bobcats and making their own run toward a title in an increasingly thinning FCS will be seen — by some — as a bust?
For one, he knows Montana isn't a fixer-upper.
"Every team is a new team every year, right?" he said. "And so how do our guys come together? How do our guys that people think are the big fish, like Keali'i (Ah Yat) and Eli (Gillman), Peyton (Wing), Jake (Mason) ... all those guys. Clay Oven, Brooks Davis. How do they lead this team?
"But, but we expect big things because we have good players and we have really good coaches. So hopefully we’ll be able to change the narrative."
One advantage Kennedy has is continuity of star power.
In an era when a coaching change can trigger a mass exodus of talent, Montana’s core stayed largely intact after Hauck’s departure. That includes the three-headed monster on offense that is Ah Yat at quarterback, Gillman at running back and Davis at wide receiver.
“No. 1, I think they know what Montana has to offer,” Kennedy said of star retention. “It’s the people in the community, it’s our program, it’s their friends on the team. But also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our assistant coaches. Our players have a really good connection and good relationships with our assistants. I think those guys were as instrumental as anything with the group of guys staying.”
By the same token, the roster does look different. By his count, the Grizzlies brought in roughly two dozen transfers and around 20 high school signees who now have to learn what “the Montana way,” as Kennedy puts it, actually looks like.
"Part of their charge is learning the culture and having the guys that are on our team teach them the Montana way," he said. "It’s a continuing process all the time in terms of teaching and learning, and then also the expectations."
That's part of the reason why UM's restructuring of Kennedy's contract was much more than an offseason footnote. He now has a longer runway to establish his brand, his style and his culture within the program.
And, should things come to a head, the relatively small $100,000 buyout clause within is an "easy" out for both sides. But nobody is thinking about that right now.
"For them to see the good things that I was doing thus far in my short tenure meant a lot," he said. "I’ve got full confidence in our administration and the path that we’re on.
"They thought, yeah, you know, maybe we need to give this guy a little more so that he can have a fair run at this thing. I enjoy the state. I’ve been all around the state this spring, and Montana fans and the University of Montana, it’s a special place. So this is where I want to be."
As fall camp continues in Missoula, Kennedy is in the midst of that process. And he can't wait to unveil the 2026 Griz to thousands of fans across the state and wherever else they may reside — starting with running out of that tunnel on the night of Aug. 29.
