OT: Brian Kelly Just Playing With ND?

Submitted by Sven_Da_M on

I have a hunch that Brian Kelly is just playing with the Irish about their open HC position. A few reasons:

1. Note the wording of his tweet:

"Just informed our team that Notre Dame has contacted me and I will listen to what they have to say."

Gives him room to say later that he wasn't really interested, and that his heart is really with the Bearcats. Great motivation for his team's Sugar Bowl practices.

2. With Clausen and Tate leaving, ND is looking at 2-3 years of rebuilding. Again.

3. Kelly can see what the ND HC position has been recently: a ticket to eventual obscurity. Their non-aligned status doesn't fit in the BCS era.

4. He knows he has a good QB following Tony Pike. Cinci figures to challenge for the Big East title again next year and another possible BCS berth.

5. He has a chance to beat the Chosen One (Tebow) and the Arrogant Asshole (Meyer) in the Sugar Bowl. Why would you want to leave when you have the chance to do that? Even if he comes up short, it's a great chance to be on the big stage and try to pick off the reigning national champion.

6. Kelly will likely have a choice for a better position next year.

Bottom line, I think he wants to be first in line for the interview, and I bet before the week is out he will tell them "no thanks." It could happen as soon as tomorrow.

That will be great for two reasons:

1. Michigan won't have to face a Brian Kelly coached team each year.

2. It will absolutely crush the Irish faithful. Kelly says no, Stoops and Harbaugh are out, and Gruden has a great gig for now. They will scramble, and have to go for a Butch Davis or a real Hail Mary, such as Randy Edsall.

Notre Dame searching for a Head Coach is great to watch: they are a desperate buyer and they don't know it.

HAIL 2 VICTORS

December 8th, 2009 at 10:42 AM ^

If I were an ND fan my greatest concern regarding Kelly has nothing to do with his ability as a coach or his defense.

How Kelly threw that kicker under the bus at half time of the Pitt game was salty in the least and VERY Charlie like. The other concern is running a national recruting base with high academic standards. Kelly has a midwest recruiting base with very little standard at Cinci. I also hope he passes on the job as he is the best candidate on the ND list.

El Jeffe

December 8th, 2009 at 11:22 AM ^

Is this true about ND's standards? I know it is widely believed, leading to the infamous Paul Hornung "we gotta get the black athlete" crash and burn, but can anyone verify this?

I'm willing to believe it's true, but I'm just wondering what the difference actually amounts to. Like is it higher GPA/SAT/ACT scores? And are there some notable recent examples of players ND wanted, couldn't get past the academic standards office (or whatever), and ended up at different schools with lower standards?

Irish?

EDIT: Supposed to be a reply to HAIL 2 VICTORS above.

Irish

December 8th, 2009 at 11:30 AM ^

The perfect example is Baldwin at Pitt. A big time receiver who is going to be lighting up sportscenter for seasons to come. A silent commit but couldn't be admitted under his then academic status, decided on Pitt instead of taking the extra classes he needed for admission to ND

El Jeffe

December 8th, 2009 at 2:16 PM ^

Thanks, Irish. The "silent commit" part reduces my confidence in your example somewhat, but you've earned the benefit of my doubt, I would say.

Do you know any more specifics, though? Is it GPA/SAT/ACT-related, or something else (not sure what it could be, but still).

jmblue

December 8th, 2009 at 12:44 PM ^

It is weird that he tweeted that he was interviewing. Usually coaches try to keep these things quiet. At the same time, he's talked about how he's still in the process of renegotiating his UC contract. He definitely seems to be playing one against the other. We'll find out which one soon enough.

RichRodFollower

December 8th, 2009 at 12:45 PM ^

FACT: Cincinnati ranked in the top 5 preseason next year = real chance at BCS National Championship game. They won't have as far to climb in the polls to get to the top. That's a good reason to stay at Cincy!

jblaze

December 8th, 2009 at 1:18 PM ^

http://twitter.com/CoachBrianKelly

Also, the comments that an undefeated Cincy couldn't get to the NC game but ND could may be flawed. That would mean that either Texas or Alabama would be undefeated and would not go to the NC game.

It's still a pretty big assumption that a theoretically undefeated ND team would be ranked ahead of Texas or Alabama this season.

jblaze

December 8th, 2009 at 6:04 PM ^

Kelly is waiting to go to a Cincy banquet, tell the fans and the players how much he loves them and blah, blah, blah. Then he'll mention how excited he is about playing in their first BCS bowl.

The very next day, he'll quit and sign with ND for more money? That is the very definition of class!