via cdn3.sbnation.com

Really, I am disappointed for all the fans of Cincinnati, and for the enitre Big East, that Brian Kelly has decided to head for (Greener) pastures.  I had hoped that Kelly might have been the rare type that wanted to become the Knute Rockne of a football program, rather than the guy that followed three of the most average coaches in a program's history.  When he had earlier said that, when thinking of the Notre Dame job, one had to ask one's self if one wants to be the governor, to live a very public life, I thought he was going to keep prowling the sidelines at Nippert.  Turns out, he wants to be the governor, to bask in the glow of that public life.

It makes sense, though, I guess.  Irish-Catholic.  Probably grew up a Notre Dame fan.  Rosy-cheeked and cherubic like a man that drinks Jameson's (THE Irish-Catholic Whiskey...the Protestants drink Bushmill's) with a Guinness back.  All three of his coaching stops have a midwest flavor, so he will be able to recruit well without even factoring in Notre Dame's national appeal.  And he has shown an incredible ability to coach to the talent he has available, which bodes well for next year's Irish team.

Still, it is seedy.  Why couldn't the guy just stand up and say what his intentions were, rather than play that bullshit cat-and-mouse game with the media?  Mardy Gilyard revealed youthful, unblinking awareness of the truth.

"He went for the money," said Gilyard, the Big East's top receiver and kick returner.  "I'm fairly disgusted with the situation, that they let it last this long.

"I don't like it.  I feel there was a little lying in the thing. I feel like he'd known this the whole time. Everybody knows Notre Dame's got the money. I kind of had a gut feeling he was going to stay just because he told me he was going to be here. (I'm) just blindsided by the fact that it's a business.  People lose sight of that. At the end of the day, NCAA football is a business. People have got to make business decisions."

Reminds me of Dykes' comments after The Product exited Stage North.  No offense, Kelly...but I hope you wind up being just the next guy to have a .528 winning percentage under the Golden Dome.  Although, I suspect you won't be, because clearly you were the best hire available.  You know, Ohio State is probably breathing a sigh of relief...now they can go back to being the best team in Ohio.

I'm just thinking...Gilyard had some pointed comments there.  But how much better would it be if  he had said:  "Yeah, he (expletive) lied to us.  He got us to go out there (last Saturday) and play our hearts out, thinking he was going to stay with us, and all we were really doing was sweetening the pot at his next gig.  Let me tell you what I think:  that guy is a (expletive) roly-poly douche bag, and I hope he never wins another (expletive) game."

(I'm channelling, in part, what I wanted Pat White to say to Rod on national television.)

Can you believe this guy had the audacity to thank his present team for putting him in a postion to get his "dream job?"  That takes solid brass balls.

"He said it himself in there: We're the ones that created this opportunity for him," Cincinnati tight end Ben Guidugli said, after Kelly broke the news. "He actually was thanking us for the work we've done to get him in the position that he's in."

Just think, if Nebraska holds on for one more second against Texas, and Kelly is coaching in the title game against Saban, does Kelly even make this move to South Bend?  Cincy's fans could perhaps blame Colt McCoy for throwing that pass just in time.

Anyway...my sincerest condolences to any Bearcat fans that might stumble across this...as Mountaineers, we know just how you feel.  Look at it this way, though:  at least Kelly wasn't leaving his alma mater behind.