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Three years after Cincinnati hired Brian Kelly from Central
Michigan, the fourth-ranked Bearcats are looking at another
Chippewas coach to replace him.
Central Michigan's Butch Jones emerged Tuesday as the
school's choice to replace Kelly, according to a person familiar
with the coaching search.
The
Morning Sun in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., reported that Jones
was negotiating a contract with Cincinnati on Tuesday night. A
person familiar with Cincinnati's search, speaking on condition of
anonymity because no deal was complete, confirmed Jones was the top
option.
It would mark the second time in three years that the
Bearcats turned to the Mid-American Conference school for their
head coach. They hired Kelly after his three-year stay at Central
Michigan, where his spread offense was one of the nation's best.
Jones has kept the high-powered offensive approach and built
on Kelly's success at Central Michigan, winning the MAC title this
season by beating Ohio. The Chippewas finished the season at No.
25, their first time in the national rankings.
Cincinnati (12-0) has moved quickly to replace Kelly, who
accepted Notre Dame's coaching job last Thursday. The team has been
off since then. Offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn, who has been
Kelly's assistant for the last 22 years, said Tuesday afternoon he
hoped to get the job even though he had no head coaching
experience.
Quinn was promoted to interim coach when Kelly left, given
responsibility for getting the Bearcats ready to face Florida in
the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. The Bearcats are scheduled to
resume practice on Thursday.
It's unclear whether Jones, if he reaches a deal, would coach
Cincinnati in its bowl game. The Chippewas will play Troy in the
GMAC Bowl on Jan. 6.
Jones' offensive philosophy and his familiarity with the Big
East worked in his favor. He was an offensive coordinator at
Central Michigan before moving to West Virginia as an assistant to
Rich Rodriguez in 2005-06. When Kelly left for Cincinnati, he got
his job at Central Michigan.
While Jones was at West Virginia, the Mountaineers had one of
the nation's top offenses. That worked in his favor - next season,
Cincinnati will return the nucleus of an offense that is one of the
nation's best. Cincinnati is looking to keep its wide-open
offensive philosophy.
Quinn coached Central Michigan to a 31-14 win over Middle
Tennessee State in the Motor City Bowl in 2006 after Kelly left for
Cincinnati.
Whoever coaches the Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl has a tough
challenge. Players were angry and stunned when Kelly told them last
Thursday - after their annual awards banquet - that he was leaving
for Notre Dame. A week earlier, Kelly had told his players he was
happy in Cincinnati, and said on a radio show that he was staying.
All the change could lead to a distracted team for the bowl
game.
"Our focus is to congratulate them for being 12-0 and getting
them ready for the Sugar Bowl," Quinn said earlier Tuesday. "We've
circled the wagons.
"Sometimes, it feels like you're drinking water through a
fire hose. We have to get their minds off the process of who is the
next coach and focus on the task at hand. The message isn't
changing. It's just coming from a different voice."
