Confirmed: Brian Kelly of CMU to be new UC coach

[DoogMinAmo]

http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/cincybearcats/

It's Kelly

A CMU source confirms UC has offered the job to Central Michigan coach Brian Kelly

Also, it is official regarding UC in the International Bowl in Toronto, I think I might go.

[paintmered]

This has been confirmed. BCI reporting a presser is scheduled for 4:00 tomorrow to announce Kelly as the new UC head coach.

[DoogMinAmo]

Thanks for the update paint.

[Caveat Emperor]

This has been confirmed. Presser scheduled for 4:00 tomorrow to announce Kelly as the new UC head coach.

I'm not so sure I'd be excited by this hire if I was UC -- from what I've heard, this guy is pretty ambitious and probably views Cincinnati as another stepping-stone job to something better, much like Dantonio. The program needs some stability, and I don't know if this guy will give it to them.

I don't know, I guess we'll see.

[DoogMinAmo]

I'm not so sure I'd be excited by this hire if I was UC -- from what I've heard, this guy is pretty ambitious and probably views Cincinnati as another stepping-stone job to something better, much like Dantonio. The program needs some stability, and I don't know if this guy will give it to them.

I don't know, I guess we'll see.

Build UC up with a solid head coach and 3-4 more solid years, and eventually we are talking a stadium expansion away from being a top BCS school.

I liken this to what Louisville did in building their program, eventually they got to the point that stepping to another school is just a lateral move.

[paintmered]

I'm not so sure I'd be excited by this hire if I was UC -- from what I've heard, this guy is pretty ambitious and probably views Cincinnati as another stepping-stone job to something better, much like Dantonio. The program needs some stability, and I don't know if this guy will give it to them.

I don't know, I guess we'll see.

I'm not sure either. He is definitely ambitious. But I think he can win right away at UC. The foundation of this year's team is in their sophomore season.

Also, he turned down the Michigan State job before Dantonio accepted it.

[paintmered]

Build UC up with a solid head coach and 3-4 more solid years, and eventually we are talking a stadium expansion away from being a top BCS school.

I liken this to what Louisville did in building their program, eventually they got to the point that stepping to another school is just a lateral move.

From what I've read, those plans are already drawn up to expand Nippert by 10-15K and enhance it with luxury suites. I'm not sure how they can do it considering other buildings are in close proximity to the stadium. And they need the attendance to justify it before anything happens.

[DoogMinAmo]

Paint, is it just rumored that he turned down the offer or has it been confirmed as well? One has to wonder why he would pick UC over MSU.

Mike Thomas the AD of UC has said the longevity of the coaching position would definitely be stressed with this new hire; he may be ambitious but he would have had to satisfy this concern of MT's and all of UC in order for him to get the job offer.

[Reds4Life]

I'm sure the buyout of his contract will be pretty high, they aren't going to get screwed again like they did with Dantonio.

And yes, Kelly did turn down MSU. He turned down Iowa State also.

[paintmered]

Paint, is it just rumored that he turned down the offer or has it been confirmed as well? One has to wonder why he would pick UC over MSU.

Mike Thomas the AD of UC has said the longevity of the coaching position would definitely be stressed with this new hire; he may be ambitious but he would have had to satisfy this concern of MT's and all of UC in order for him to get the job offer.

I don't know if it has been confirmed. But both the UC and the CMU boards have mentioned it. The CMU fans thought they had dodged the big bullet. Many sad folks up there unfortunately - especially after their big win against OU.

I do know that at one point, Kelly was the front runner to the MSU job.

[DoogMinAmo]

What is Kelly's background, is it as an offensive or defensive coach? Is there any chance Narduzzi kept around for continuity and to run the defense?

[Reds4Life]

Narduzzi is going to MSU.

[paintmered]

What is Kelly's background, is it as an offensive or defensive coach? Is there any chance Narduzzi kept around for continuity and to run the defense?

http://www.cmuchippewas.com/ViewArti...&Q_SEASON=2006

He won two national championships at the D-II level.

[OnBaseMachine]

Kelly has an offensive background I believe. He runs the spread offense.

[DoogMinAmo]

Kelly has an offensive background I believe. He runs the spread offense.

According to Paint's link, he has more xperience as a defensive coach...

A native of Chelsea, Massachusetts, Kelly attended St. John’s Prep School in Danvers, Massachusetts. He was a four-year letterwinner at Assumption College (Massachusetts) as a linebacker. After graduating from Assumption in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, he served as linebackers coach, defensive coordinator, and softball coach from 1983-86 at Assumption.
Kelly joined the Grand Valley staff in 1987 as a graduate assistant and defensive backs coach. He became the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 1989 and took over as head coach in 1991. His first team finished 9-3 and qualified for the NCAA Playoffs.

EDIT: Also interesting of note for local (Bengals) ties from his bio:

Three players from the Chippewas’ 2004 squad are currently on NFL rosters. Eric Ghiacuic and Adam Kieft were drafted in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively, in 2005, while Tory Humphrey spent last season with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent. Humphrey was recently allocated to the Amsterdam Admirals for the 2006 NFL Europe season.