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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

SEAN O' SHEA,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 12:45 PM

Updated Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 5:22 PM

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

Kelly is known as an offensive genius like Weis, but unlike him, he also has extensive defensive experience.

The 48-year-old grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and attended Assumption College, where he spent four years playing as a linebacker.

Upon graduating with a degree in political science, Kelly worked as a linebackers coach, defensive coordinator, and softball coach at Assumption College for three years.

In 1987 he became defensive backs coach at Grand Valley State University under Coach Tom Beck, and two years later became defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

In 1991 he became head coach at Grand Valley State and over 13 seasons would amass a record of 118-35-2, during which he won two NCAA Division II national titles with the Lakers in 2002 and 2003.

In 2004 he took over as head coach at Central Michigan and in three seasons went 19-16, helping the team win the Motor City Bowl in his last year (Kelly moved to Cincinnati on December 3, 2006, before Central Michigan won the Bowl game).

In just over three seasons, Kelly has transformed the fortunes of Cincinnati. In his first year, they has their first 10-win season and the following year won the Big East outright.

This year, Kelly’s team is 11-0 and lie currently in the fifth spot in the BCS rankings.

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37 Comments

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GOIRISH82 | Dec 11, 2009, 06:30 PM EST

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!

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Broadcaster | Dec 06, 2009, 08:12 PM EST

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.

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BrianBoru | Dec 06, 2009, 02:34 AM EST

Good Lord, I hope Kelly remains at Cincinnati. He'd be a train wreck at Notre Dame.

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kahuna24 | Dec 06, 2009, 02:06 AM EST

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.

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Broadcaster | Dec 05, 2009, 07:46 PM EST

Okay doglove. Notre Dame would be lucky to have Brian Kelly, when's the last time Notre Dame went undefeated or even won anything?

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doglove | Dec 05, 2009, 06:54 PM EST

He is not a defensive coach who almost blew it today. I'd go for someone w/ a stronger past.

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CincyPride | Dec 05, 2009, 05:58 PM EST

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

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Broadcaster | Dec 05, 2009, 02:24 PM EST

Fire up Chips!

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Broadcaster | Dec 05, 2009, 02:23 PM EST

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.

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BrianBoru | Dec 05, 2009, 01:30 PM EST

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.

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kahuna24 | Dec 04, 2009, 04:34 PM EST

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.

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BrianBoru | Dec 04, 2009, 04:25 AM EST

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.

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Middleman | Dec 03, 2009, 10:14 PM EST

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.

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BrianBoru | Dec 03, 2009, 07:35 PM EST

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.

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Middleman | Dec 03, 2009, 04:56 PM EST

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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