Cincinnati's Trump Card in Brian Kelly Negotiations

Sure, the Fighting Irish have bags of money, superior facilities, legions of fans, a deal with NBC and more to throw at Brian Kelly, should they choose to go after him, but Cincinnati fans can write in the snow!

OK, it's actually a nice gesture. Somehow, I don't think it'll offset the above listed pros of going to South Bend if decision time comes for Kelly. (And that could be coming soon, as Joe Schad reports an interview could take place Tuesday, "probably in NYC.")

UPDATE: Kelly was on the Dan Patrick Show. Some of the comments have to make Cincinnati fans feel sick to their stomach.

Patrick: Brian, how about this: You guarantee you'll coach in the Sugar Bowl?
Kelly: No. There's no guarantees in anything that you do. I've never given a guarantee whether I was going to make it home at the end of the day. But I really have not sat down and had a chance to evaluate what it is that is in the future.

[...]

Kelly: The fact of the matter is, I haven't made the decision yet as to what is in our best interest -- my family's best interest -- and I'll do that over the next few days.
Patrick: What do you mean? A decision to look at another job?
Kelly: Yeah, I may come out in 48 hours and say "Listen, I'm staying here at Cincinnati, no matter if the New England Patriots call."
Patrick: Have you been offered a contract extension by Cincinnati?
Kelly: We are working on one right now.
Patrick: So there's a chance you could sign the contract extension and put an end to the Notre Dame rumors.
Kelly: Absolutely. There's absolutely a chance of that. And I think there's a chance that I could look at another job. I haven't made that decision yet and I'll do that after today. Today is our team meeting with our players and then I've got a couple of days until our banquet and I want to be able to sit down and figure out what the best course of action is.

[...]

Patrick: From what I was told you turned down an opportunity last year to go elsewhere. Is that fair?
Kelly: Yes, that's fair.
Patrick: And where was that that you turned down?
Kelly: It doesn't matter at this point.
Patrick: Yeah it does. It helps the conversation.
Kelly: It was a major BCS school, and I'll leave it at that.

[...]

Patrick: By next Saturday, will I know what your future is?
Kelly: Yes you will.

Listen to the full interview here.

UPDATE 2: Evidently Jim Harbaugh will also interview with Notre Dame this week in New York.

UPDATE 3: And now Kelly has confirmed he'll listen to what Notre Dame has to say.

UPDATE 4: Jim Harbaugh and Stanford AD Bob Bowlsby both vehemently denied any contact with Notre Dame, and the New York Times has retracted its report.

(H/T to Lance McAlister)

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