Tag: Brian Kelly (Page 4 of 6)

      Notre Dame hires Brian Kelly to be next head coach, Cincinnati players upset

      December 10, 2009 /

      According to ESPN.com, Notre Dame signed Brian Kelly to a five-year deal to become the school’s next head coach. Kelly will not coach Cincinnati when the program takes on Florida in the Sugar Bowl early next month.

      The news didn’t play well with Kelly’s current team. Bearcat players were led into a meeting room, where Kelly told them he was leaving and thanked them for making his opportunity possible. One minute into the meeting, the door opened and receiver Mardy Gilyard walked out angry and alone, save his MVP trophy.

      “He went for the money,” Gilyard told The Associated Press. “I’m fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long.”

      Players weren’t told of Kelly’s decision until the banquet ended, nearly three hours after the news first broke. A few blinked back tears as they left.

      “We already knew what he was going to say. We weren’t giving him a round of applause or anything,” tight end Ben Guidugli said. “It’s like somebody turned their back on us. We brought this whole thing this far. We’ve come this far. To have someone walk out now is disappointing.”

      Kelly did the exact same thing to his former players at Central Michigan before their bowl game in 2006 after the Chippewas won the MAC Championship. And just like in 2006 when he coached CMU in its bowl game, offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn will fill in for Kelly at the Sugar Bowl.

      None of this should surprise anyone seeing as how Kelly and Notre Dame spoke last week. Kelly has won everywhere he’s been and that’s exactly what the Irish seek right now: A winner. He turned Grand Valley State into a D-II powerhouse, brought a MAC championship to Mt. Pleasant and made Cincinnati a national title contender. He has become the hottest name in college football and if his track record is any indication of how he’ll do in South Bend, he’ll be very successful turning the Notre Dame program around.

      That said, it’s disappointing that yet another college coach turned his back on his players to advance his career. But that’s reality. Players come and go every four years (or less) and coaches have to job hop in order to further their careers. It’s not an ideal format, but I get it.

      Kelly will have his work cut out for him. Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate (ND’s best players) have decided to enter April’s NFL draft and the Irish are void of talent on the defensive side of the ball. But again, if there’s one man that can turn around Notre Dame’s misfortunes, it might just be Kelly.


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      College Football

      Did Kelly meet with Notre Dame before the Pittsburgh game?

      December 9, 2009 /

      According to the Chicago Tribune, Brian Kelly didn’t interview with Notre Dame officials yesterday because he had already interview with them last week before Cincinnati’s game against Pittsburgh.

      Kelly had a meeting last week about the opening with representatives of Notre Dame before Cincinnati’s Big East championship game against Pittsburgh, the Tribune has learned.

      Talks progressed well enough that the official announcement Kelly will be Charlie Weis’ replacement could come as early as Friday — any time after Cincinnati’s football banquet Thursday night.

      It also was important to Kelly to delay any possible announcement until after he had a chance to talk to his Bearcats in person at Thursday’s season-ending banquet. He informed his players at a team meeting Monday before leaving for New York that he planned to speak with Notre Dame.

      None of this should surprise anyone given how college coaches (Bobby Petrino, Rich Rodriguez, Nick Saban, etc.) are always looking for the next big job/payday. Kelly himself ditched Central Michigan right before its bowl game a couple years ago to coach at Cincinnati.

      Was it immoral for Kelly to talk to Notre Dame days before Cincinnati’s biggest game of the season? I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Personally, I’m so numb to the way college coaches job hop that I could care less at this point. There’s no loyalty anymore and it doesn’t appear that things are going to change anytime soon.

      We’ll just have to wait and see if the Tribune’s report is right that Kelly is bound for South Bend. But all signs point to him being Notre Dame’s next head coach.


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      College Football

      Report: Brian Kelly to entertain Notre Dame opportunity

      December 5, 2009 /

      ESPN.com is reporting that Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly would entertain the idea of talking to Notre Dame next week about the school’s open coaching position.

      Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly told ESPN this week that he promised fans he would focus on the Pitt game and that speculation he is a candidate for the Notre Dame opening wouldn’t be a distraction.

      Kelly still maintains that it hasn’t been, adding that he was staying away from it until after the game, but if Notre Dame wanted to speak with him next week, he would “entertain” their request.

      Kelly told a local radio station in Cincinnati that he’s happy at Cincy and wants to stay there long term. But that means nothing, especially coming from a man that ditched Central Michigan in 2006 before its bowl game in order to take the vacant position in Cincinnati.

      Kelly has successfully climbed the latter from D-III head coach at Grand Valley State, to MAC coach at CMU to Big East coach at Cincinnati. If Notre Dame calls, there is little doubt that he won’t at least entertain the offer. And chances are, Cincinnati won’t come up with the money it’ll take to retain Kelly’s services and he’ll move on.

      Regular readers know that I think Kelly would be a perfect fit for the Irish, even though I would think it would be admirable if he stayed at Cincinnati and continued to grow that program. We’ll see what happens.

      College Football

      Botched extra point costs PITT in loss to Cincinnati in thrilling Big East finale

      December 5, 2009 /

      They scored 44 points, blocked a punt and saw their freshman running back rack up 194 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 47 carries. But in the end, a botched extra point cost Pittsburgh an opportunity to claim a share of the Big East championship and the shot to play in a BCS bowl.

      No. 5 Cincinnati rallied to beat No. 15 PITT 45-44 on Saturday in a wild Big East finale, thanks in large part to quarterback Tony Pike’s big second half. His 29-yard touchdown pass to Armon Binns with 33 seconds remaining helped cap the Bearcats’ wild comeback.

      But before Pike found Binns for the game-winning score, a botched hold on an extra point attempt gave Cincinnati the opportunity to win the game. After Dion Lewis (what an amazing day he had: 47 carries, 194 yards, 3 TDs) scored on a 5-yard run to give PIT a 44-38 lead with less than two minutes remaining, the Panthers blew the extra point and opened the door for Cincinnati’s comeback.

      Of course, it’s important to remember that one play doesn’t determine the outcome of a game. At one point, PITT had a 21-point lead and couldn’t hold onto it. For as good as the Panthers’ defense has played this season, they couldn’t limit the big plays and it cost them in the end. And even though everyone will look at the failed extra point as the difference, PITT’s defense still could have stopped Cincinnati on the final drive and hung on for the win.

      What an incredible victory for the Bearcats. They looked doomed from the start, but they never gave up and they kept fighting. Once again, their offense was outstanding and it’s understandable why Notre Dame is heavily considering Brian Kelly as their next head coach.

      Now the Bearcats have to root for Nebraska to beat Texas in the Big 12 Championship tonight. They would still have trouble leaping over TCU in the standings even if the Longhorns do lose, but at least Kelly’s team has put themselves in position with this victory.

      College Football

      LeFevour sets college football TD record as CMU wins MAC Championship

      December 5, 2009 /

      Central Michigan won its third MAC Championship in four years on Friday after beating Ohio 20-10 at Ford Field in Detroit. In the victory, Dan LeFevour set college football’s record for combined touchdowns passing, rushing and receiving with his 147th and 148th career scores.

      LeFevour’s touchdown mark is just one of many college football records that he now holds. He has the MAC record for total offense, passing yards and completions, and he’s also the only quarterback to pass for more than 12,000 yards and rush for more than 2,500. To put things into perspective, he has more rushing yards than Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy, as well as more passing yards than Tebow.

      LeFevour might not be first round material, but much like Tebow he does have a place in the NFL. He’s a natural athlete, has good size and can run. Given that he played in the spread while at CMU, he may struggle learning the nuances of the pro game. But again, he holds plenty of value for a team that runs the Wildcat formation and considering that he’s a smart kid and a hard worker, over time he could develop into a solid pro.

      As for CMU, coach Butch Jones has done a wonderful job taking over the team after Brian Kelly left the program in the lurch to coach at Cincinnati. It’ll be interesting to see if Davis stays in Mt. Pleasant after this season, because other schools (Marshall) will no doubt be in hot pursuit of his services.


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      College Football

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