At a time when the bigger question may be whether Notre Dame wants him back, Irish coach Brian Kelly insists he doesn’t want to leave.
Amid reports that Kelly’s representatives are exploring options elsewhere, Kelly insists he wants to stay with Notre Dame.
“I felt that I was clear with the media following yesterday’s game at USC when I was asked about my desire to be back as the head football coach at Notre Dame, but in light of media reports that surfaced afterward, let me restate my position,” Kelly said in an early-morning statement issued by the team. “I have not been, am not, and will not be interested in options outside of Notre Dame. I’m fully committed to leading this program in the future.”
That doesn’t change the fact that both Pat Forde of Yahoo! Sports and Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com have reported that Kelly’s agents have been contacting other universities about possible openings. Via McMurphy, Kelly also could be interested in an NFL opportunity, if it arose.
Although Kelly’s name has emerged in the past regarding possible NFL destinations, his stock isn’t as high as it’s been in the past because the program is struggling. At 4-8, the sizzle necessary to get him to the NFL simply may not be there.
Given the team’s struggles and the speculation that Notre Dame could make a change, it’s reasonable to believe that Kelly’s representatives are looking for landing spots, if he’s fired. And that’s the only way to reconcile his statement with the reports.
No, he’s not looking to leave. But if he’s told to leave, he needs to be looking for options. And if the wind is blowing in the direction of Kelly getting blown out of South Bend, it would be foolish not to start looking now.
