Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly linked to Buccaneers coaching vacancy

On Wednesday morning, Brian Kelly’s name was thrown into the mix of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching candidates.

David Haugh of Chicago’s 670 The Score, reported that Notre Dame’s head coach Brian Kelly had emerged as a potential candidate for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coaching vacancy.

According to Haugh, the Bucs would be willing to offer $10 million a year to their next head coach. An enticing offer even for a coach with one of the most sought-after jobs in all of football.

Kelly’s name hasn’t been mentioned in NFL coaching searches very often. His last interview came in 2013, with the Philadelphia Eagles. They hired Chip Kelly instead.

Although Kelly may be in the mix for coaching jobs in the future, a contradicting report said that Kelly would not be interviewed for the opening in Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud reported that the Bucs have no intentions to interview Kelly for the job.

Kelly may have garnered some interest from the Buccaneers organization, but it doesn’t appear to be enough to land him a sit-down with the team.

Perhaps the plans could change down the road, but for now, Kelly doesn’t appear to be a legitimate candidate for the position.

Hiring Kelly would be a shocking move for Tampa Bay. He has no NFL coaching experience, and no reports linked him to a job in the pros since the interview with the Eagles six years ago.

Kelly does have a strong resume as a college coach, however. After a strong run at Cincinnati, Kelly has revived the Notre Dame program. The Fighting Irish haven’t won a National Championship just yet, but the Irish have a BCS Championship and a College Football playoff appearance under Kelly.

General manager Jason Licht already set up a pair of interviews for the head coaching vacancy. Tampa Bay will interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator this week.