Kelly new coach at Notre Dame, players salty

After three seasons, the Brian Kelly era at the University of Cincinnati is over.

The UC head coach is on his way out, bags packed to Notre Dame to fill the vacant head coaching position after Charlie Weis was let go on Nov. 30.

Kelly signed a five-year contract and is to take over Monday, Dec. 14. Kelly will not be coaching the Bearcats in the team's second-consectutive BCS bowl game, the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, New Year's Day.

"I am very pleased that a thorough and extensive search has led us to a new head coach in Brian Kelly, who I am confident will help us accomplish our goal of competing for national championships," Notre Dame Athletics director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement.

He is to be introduced as head coach of the Fighting Irish at 1:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn will coach the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. Quinn's relatoinship with Kelly spans 22 years and three different schools.

Two sources close to the situation told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen about Kelly’s decision to leave Cincinnati, Thursday, Dec. 10. The move comes after weeks of speculation that Kelly would eventually be heading to South Bend, Ind.

UC hosted its football banquet, Thursday, Dec. 10, and The Cincinnati Enquirer reported tight end Ben Guidugli spoke afterward, expressing his complete displeasure for the set of circumstances the team find itself in.

"We don't really care what he has to say anymore," Guidugli said.  "He can go talk to his Notre Dame team. We're ready to move forward with whoever wants to move forward with us. He's not on the boat anymore, so we've got to continue on."

Standout wide receiver Mardy Gilyard wasn't too pleased either.

"He went for the money," Gilyard told The Associated Press. "I'm fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long."

The three-time Big East Coach of the Year has been quiet, saying little leading up to the current situation. Lately, he’s been imploring that his focus is on getting the Bearcats to a BCS bowl game for the second-straight season. The tight-lipped Kelly spoke to ESPN's Chris Fowler during the NCAA College Football Awards show and only complimented Fowler's repeated requests on the time of the accouncement.

"Chris, you're doing a great job, but I really have nothing on the end for you, you'll have to chase it on the other end [Notre Dame]."

After the Bearcats’ 45-44 victory at Pittsburgh, Saturday, Dec. 5, Kelly deflected any questions about the vacant coaching job at Notre Dame by proceeding to chastise the media on the handling of rumors and speculation.

Notre Dame will be Kelly’s fourth head coaching position, after spending three seasons in Cincinnati, three at Central Michigan and 16 at Grand Valley State. In his 22 seasons as a head coach, Kelly has collected 171 wins against just 57 losses and won back-to-back NCAA Division II national titles at Grand Valley State.

The Bearcats are 34-6 spanning his three seasons as head coach, including a 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl appearance.