Coach Kelly Situation

[DMoney_70]

They've already approved the new practice stadium and supposedly they've been working on a big contract for a couple of weeks now...what other kind of leverage is he looking for?

UC will never have what Notre Dame can offer to a football program as far as facilities and tradition. What it can offer is a chance to be the top dog in a BCS conference and allow the coach to shape the program to his liking.

We'll see which one Kelly would rather have. I can't fault him either way. I'm not happy about it but I can't really fault him.

[#41]

I agree with you on this but I saw earlier you posted doom and gloom to the UC football program... I dont agree with that. Its all good guys.

It's not doom and gloom, it's acknowledging:

1.) The reality that it's extremely difficult to replace a great coach with another great coach

2.) The reality that UC needs another great coach (not just a good coach) to continue to sustain interest and fan support long enough to make needed improvements to the program that will allow it to survive the lulls in success that might come from a bad coaching hire.

It's up to Thomas to pull another rabbit out of his hat. The program simply cannot afford to whiff right now, with all the big plans on the table. Maybe once the practice facility is built, the stadium is expanded with more seats and premium options, and the recruiting pipelines are wide open with good talent coming in every year -- but right now, with the program in it's infancy, a whiff sets things back a long time.

That's not doom and gloom, it's reality.

[shaunsimpson]

To me interviewing means that he is interested, but doesn't mean he will take it or even get an offer.

I have been of the opinion that if he was offered he would take it, but does he want to go to a University that doesn't let you control the discipline of your own players?

Read these two interviews with Weis. Maybe the family will over ride the move. Weis didn't seem to enjoy the way his family was treated in south bend.

http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1025063
http://notredame.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1025283

BK is not gone, but he isn't fully here. I don't have problems with the way he has handled this and he is the only coach I have seen announce that he was contacted.

I just like that this will not drag out. Kelly will be our coach in a week or we will be looking for another one and probably will already have another one. If Mike Thomas isn't ready to find one then I will be shocked.

[jcraigmoore]

Kelly interviews with ND the same day tickets to the general public go on sale for the Sugar Bowl. Great timing BK?

[DimitriusChristedes]

Keith makes a good point. I have done exactly what keith describes in my professional life. Both listened to job offers I didn't think I would want, and used job offers to stay, with a higher salary, at the job I was in, and wanted to stay with all along.

Does this prove that is what coach Kelly is doing? no. But it's a possibility. It's possible ND prefers Harbaugh, it's possible BK wants to take the job. We don't know. We will soon. I won't crucify him for leaving after telling his kids he would not until he actually does.

[bobestes]

There is a reason this stuff is done in secrecy.

Coach X is not going to publicly announce he's interviewing for a job, because if he doesn't get it, he looks bad.

School Y is not going to publicly announce they're interviewing someone for a job, because if he turns them down, they look like they're begging for a coach. I can't imagine Notre Dame wants to be seen as swinging and missing again, like they did with Urban.

With all the back and forth that goes on between intermediaries, this is a done deal. He's gone. Announcing the interview is on Tuesday is basically a soft way to ease the good folks of Cincinnati into his decision to go, instead of sneaking off in a private jet in the night.

[waterhead]

Point is if he's interviewing he's interested. I've never interviewed for a job I didn't want. Just seems like the Dantonio situation all over again, as much as we all want to think he's not going to leave we just have to prepare for worst case scenario...

I've done it so I could tell the company I really wanted to work for that I had an offer for "so and so" and could they do any better on salary. He'd be an ***** not to go get the offer whether he wanted it or not so he had big leverage with UC and boosters to get more money/perks.

It works folks...it really does

[#41]

Find me one quote from Coach Kelly that states that he wants to be the coach at ND. Meeting with ND may be nothing more than information gathering on his part. It certainly does not mean that he is good as gone.

Come on -- you think that Swarbrick asked around for Kelly's number and gave him a shout this morning to invite him to an informational meeting in New York?

If things have progressed to a face-to-face with the AD, it means that tons of vetting and intermediary contact has gone on in the past days / weeks leading up to a meeting.

The fact that BK is making it public speaks volumes. This stuff is usually cloak-and-dagger for a reason -- coaches don't want to come crawling back to their kids and university with it being widely known that they lost out on a job. If BK is making the meeting known, it means that he intends to take a job if offered and that he expects to be offered the job.

I don't need direct quotes to read between the lines and see the writing on the wall here. He's gone, he knows it, and he's letting the team down as easily as he can (for a man who lied and told them he'd be there and wasn't going anywhere).

[seville]

Wrong....
question #1 in the interview..what is your side of the story regarding what happened at CMU
Does this mean they are willing to overlook? Or does this mean that they are thinking..hey we will be in New York, Brian Kelly will be in New York, lets at least talk to him and see what he has to say.

Dude it's a done deal. I'm a Bearcat fan with or without Kelly on the sidelines. Fact, if this incident at CMU is such a big deal to you why did UC hire him? It's OK for us to have this guy as a HC but not ND. Sit back all of you who think he's staying, you really think he's gonna turn down ND for UC.

[ME80]

Guys, the emotion on this board is unbelievable. I know I am probably taking tidbits from a lot of different posts (how can I remember everything that was said in 40 some odd pages.

We all knew that from past discussions ND was considered one of the jobs that Brian Kelley would consider. So before we crucify the man, put yourself in his shoes.

He has done a wonderful job at a place that doesn't have all the luxuries of many big time programs. He has taken what others have started but moved it to a level that many of us in our wildest dreams would not have expected even at the beginning of this year. But our University will probably never be able to offer him what ND or other programs might put on the table. Now he has a decision to make. A school he has always had interest in has come calling. If he turns it down now he probably will never get another chance at it again in his lifetime. Chances are that if he turns this down many other prime time positions might not come calling in the future. So now he has to say to himself, can I meet all my goals here at UC or do I need to move on.

I do not think that any of us know what he or his family think. All I know is that if he leaves UC, he will leave it in better shape than when he got here and I thank him for that.

[Cincyillini]

...

There is a reason this stuff is done in secrecy.

Coach X is not going to publicly announce he's interviewing for a job, because if he doesn't get it, he looks bad.

School Y is not going to publicly announce they're interviewing someone for a job, because if he turns them down, they look like they're begging for a coach. I can't imagine Notre Dame wants to be seen as swinging and missing again, like they did with Urban.

With all the back and forth that goes on between intermediaries, this is a done deal. He's gone. Announcing the interview is on Tuesday is basically a soft way to ease the good folks of Cincinnati into his decision to go, instead of sneaking off in a private jet in the night.

+1. ....

[ou_bearcat]

I am expecting he'll leave, but I hope he stays. BUT either way, UC football will be back to compete for a THIRD STRAIGHT BIG EAST TITLE next year.

[bobestes]

+1. ....

And quite honestly, I give him credit for doing it in as respectfully a way as possible. 9/10 coaches would jump on a plane and give a press conference at their new school, and that's how'd you'd know.

[catscratchfever]

Dude it's a done deal. I'm a Bearcat fan with or without Kelly on the sidelines. Fact, if this incident at CMU is such a big deal to you why did UC hire him? It's OK for us to have this guy as a HC but not ND. Sit back all of you who think he's staying, you really think he's gonna turn down ND for UC.

Did I ever say he was staying? Did I ever say he would turn down ND for UC? HE11 NO!!
In fact, if you excercised basic reading comprehension skills you would see that I have said repeatedly that if he is offered, he is gone yesterday. I'm not so sure that he will be offered the job.

[#41]

And quite honestly, I give him credit for doing it in as respectfully a way as possible. 9/10 coaches would jump on a plane and give a press conference at their new school, and that's how'd you'd know.

I agree.

I especially liked the part where he told the kids last week that he was going to stay and that he wasn't taking the job.

I also like the way he called out Mark Dantonio for being a liar, told the Cincinnati media "I am not Mark Dantonio," and now appears to be mere hours away from pulling a Mark Dantonio.

Respectful? Hardly. He's traveling down the same lying road every other coach has. I feel sorry for Mardy and the rest of the guys if they've been duped by another person who said that he'd be there for them.