Brian Kelly: Notre Dame Coach Interviews With Philadelphia Eagles

Brian Kelly led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on an unlikely journey to a No. 1 ranking and a BCS Title game appearance, but now the unexpected season could land Kelly somewhere else — the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly interviewing Kelly for their coaching vacancy. After the season the Eagles fired Andy Reid, who had been with the team for 13 seasons, including one Super Bowl appearance, but failed to bring what many believed was a stacked team to the playoffs in either of the past two seasons.

ESPN reported that Brian Kelly met with the Eagles on Tuesday and both sides appear to have mutual interest. This comes just a few days after Kelly demurred when asked about NFL coaching jobs, saying that leaving Notre Dame “is not an option.”

“I think from my perspective I’ve got the best job in the country, NFL, college, high school, whatever,” Kelly said Saturday. “I just look at the place that I’m at and thankful for the opportunity that I have.”

The Eagles had been interested in other college coaches, USA Today noted. The team interviewed Oregon coach Chip Kelly and was also reportedly interested in Doug Marrone, the Syracuse coach who has signed on with the Buffalo Bills.

“I think the NFL right now tends to borrow more from college than the other way around,” Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said. “But I think it’s more about leadership. Some of these coaches in college are outstanding leaders. And they just go from a younger roster to a slightly older roster — still the average age is, what 26, 27, 25 in the NFL? They are dealing with 19, 20 year-olds. It’s not that big of a difference.

Brian Kelly led Notre Dame to a 12-0 regular season record and a shot at the team’s first national title since 1988, but the Fighting Irish were dismantled by Alabama 42-14.