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Brian Kelly will be next Notre Dame football coach

Cincinnati coach to take helm of Fighting Irish, sources reveal to IrishCentral


Brian Kelly will be the next head football coach oat the University of Notre Dame, informed sources tell IrishCentral.

Copyright 2009 IrishCentral LLC

Brian Kelly will be the next head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, informed sources tell IrishCentral.

The source, who is a well-informed person of influence at Notre Dame, says the Cincinnati coach is the preferred choice for the job, and that he is expected to eventually sign a deal.

Kelly is expected to see out the season with his Bowl Championship Series-bound team, and then report for duty at South Bend.

Kelly, a Massachusetts native and proud Irish American, is an obvious choice to take over from the outbound Charlie Weis, given his background and outstanding success with the Cincinnati program.

His name first surfaced at Notre Dame when the Fighting Irish lost to USC in a last-second cliffhanger. From that moment on, Weis' job was under scrutiny, says the source.

Kelly has led Cincinnati to an unbeaten season this year, and will face off with Pittsburgh on Saturday. He has done it despite losing his first-string quarterback and many key players from last year.

Kelly has refused to comment on the Notre Dame position, but once Florida coach Urban Meyer ruled himself out, Kelly became the major focus of the Notre Dame talent search.


Nster.com


37 Comments

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This was the best decision in a long time for ND! Coach Kelly, I will forgive you for any losses EXCEPT to MICHIGAN. Please beat Michigan!
A train wreck is better than not leaving the station. Kelly wouldn't let ND disgrace itself by not accepting a bowl game because it is afraid of playing a MAC school.
Good Lord, I hope Kelly remains at Cincinnati. He'd be a train wreck at Notre Dame.
Brianboru I admit I was wrong. After watching the first half of Pitt And Cinci I thought Charlie was coaching the Bearcats. No defense at all. He's of my list.
Okay doglove. Notre Dame would be lucky to have Brian Kelly, when's the last time Notre Dame went undefeated or even won anything?
He is not a defensive coach who almost blew it today. I'd go for someone w/ a stronger past.
Great Win for coach kelly. I would think that ND would want a more defensive oriented coach but we will see. Should be interesting to see how things pan out
Fire up Chips!
ND refused bowl game because it's afraid of CMU The Notre Dame football season is officially over. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick announced Friday that the school has decided against going to a bowl game with a 6-6 record, citing "unique circumstances." What he meant was he was worried about a potential GMAC bowl matchup against Central Michigan. Swarbrick said he reached the decision after meetings with assistant coaches and team leaders. Charlie Weis was the team's offensive coordinator, so the team wouldn't have had an experienced play caller against the CMU defense. The school also likely would have lost money because their only option would have been a minor bowl where they would be embarrassed by Central Michigan. There also have been questions about how motivated players and coaches would have been to get kicked around by CMU. Players actually met this week to discuss whether to play in a bowl. The Irish went to the Hawaii Bowl last season with a 6-6 record and beat Hawaii 49-21, but were of afraid of losing by that score against Central Michigan this year. "If the landscape had been different (we didn't have to play CMU) we would have been thrilled to take part, and we certainly look forward to being part of the bowl system in the years to come," Swarbrick said.
Kahuna, are you watching the Cincinnati/Pitt game now? Kelly elected to throw the football on three consecutive plays inside the five. It was as if Charlie Weis was calling the plays. Furthermore, Kelly's teams play soft defense. I would concede that Kelly is a better motivator than Weis, but he would not even make my Top 5 list of potential candidates to replace Weis. Btw, ND did not get its ass kicked at Pitt, despite Weis helming the ship. Had they even a decent head coach this season, they'd have defeated Pitt in decisive fashion.
Cincinnati is not at Notre Dame's level? You are right they passed us three years ago. We get are ass kicked by Big East schools and they might be the conference champ. Brian Kelly is not my first pick but nobody else has the balls to come to ND so let's hire him and get ready for next year. All these other successful coaches came from small programs or not so successful pro careers.
Middleman, my points remains: Cincinnati's football program is not at the same level as Notre Dame -- and to state otherwise is high comedy. I do enjoy a good debate with fans from other schools; however, let's be honest when comparing these two programs.
BrianBoru, My good debating friend,I said "UC this season" not over the last four years. I love ND and I love UC. I grew up in Cincy but I still love ND football just as much as UC football.
Middleman, where were you four years ago? Your silly position that Cincinnati gets more television time than Notre Dame only underscores how utterly clueless you are. Notre Dame, I repeat, as their very own television contract. How about your mighty (sic) Cincinnati Bearcats? You're swimming upstream against Notre Dame's desire. If Notre Dame makes the call for Kelly -- he's their's.
Also one last thing, not being unfair to ether team, UC this season has been on ESPN more than ND and they will be the team for the second straight year in a BCS bowl on National TV while if ND does go to a bowl might be in the GMAC. Go UC! Go ND! Midwest Pride!!!




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