Come To Think of It: Charlie Weis' Replacement at Notre Dame Will be Brian Kelly

I was the first writer on Bleacher Report to report that Notre Dame was going to fire head coach Charlie Weis, and now I'm the first to report who his replacement is: Brian Kelly.

Yes, Kelly, the Cincinnati head coach, will replace Weiss when all is said and done. And all will be said and done as early as next week.

Sure, coaches like Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer would be the first choice for the Irish. either of them would represent a major coup for the program. But neither of them are likely to come to Indiana.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has been given complete authority and encouraged by key board of trustee members to be ambitious in his search for a replacement for Weis.

It is possible that Weis could coach in a bowl game depending on the terms of the separation, according to two sources. But it is obvious to everyone that the Irish will be looking for a new coach soon.

It has nothing to do with the 45-38 loss that Notre Dame endured on Saturday night. This has been a given for awhile now.

So just who is Brian Kelly? He is the 48 year old head coach of Cincinnati over the last three years. Prior to Cincinnati he was the head coach at Central Michigan University , where he had a 19-16 record over three seasons, and at Grand Valley State University, where he had a record of 118-35-2 in 13 seasons.

Meanwhile, the undefeated, fifth-rated UC Bearcats will surely try to keep him. And I'm sure that Kelly likes it at Cincinnati, but if the Irish come calling with a blank check, he's gone. It's as simple as that.

Kelly's new five-year contract took effect on Jan. 1, but it wasn't signed until June 18. He will earn $1.337 million this year, not including incentives. That's not exactly chump change, yet Kelly's salary ranks only fourth among the Big East's eight coaches and he's closing in on a second consecutive league title.

Meanwhile, expect the Irish to more than double that salary and sign him as their next head coach.