Notre Dame Coach Brian Kelly discusses Eagles interview
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said his interview with the Eagles was because he was intrigued about learning how an NFL organization operates, although he insisted that he will not depart for the NFL.
"I had always been in the college game, and really did not have a good grasp of the NFL set-up," Kelly said during a Tuesday teleconference, according to Irish Illustrated. "So for me, my head said, 'Let's be more informed as it relates to the NFL.' But my heart is in college football and with Notre Dame."
Kelly said the interview did not distract him leading up to the national championship, and it allowed him to understand the NFL so he can avoid potential interest in the future.
"Quite frankly, I wanted to answer those (questions) so I wouldn't have to go through this (again)," Kelly said. "We're going to win again next year and there are probably going to be teams that are going to have an interest (in me) coaching in the NFL, and I want to be able to tell them definitively that I want to coach in college.
"The intrigue was more that I wanted that information, so it's easy for me to make a decision on being here in the college game. I love Notre Dame and I love the college game. The intrigue was more just finding out about it so it's now easy for me to say no."
The Eagles interviewed Kelly the day after the national championship, and the meeting was first reported by The Inquirer on Jan. 9. They had focused on college coaches throughout the process, and he was the third college coach they interviewed. Kelly said his regret was about not releasing a statement soon after the news reports circulated. Four days elapsed before Kelly made a statement.
"If there's anything I would have done differently, it would have been to close that timeline relative to my interview and coming out with my statement," Kelly said. "I was on vacation with my wife. We were away. We weren't watching TV. But I should been more sensitive to the fact that there was this time period that had been going on and (I should have) released a statement much sooner."
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As a follow-up to the report of Bill Lazor coming to the Eagles, the University of Virginia announced in a statement that Lazor is leaving for an NFL job. The Eagles have not many announcements about their coaching staff.
"We have always been aware Bill Lazor might pursue a great opportunity in the National Football League," Virginia associate athletic director director Jon Oliver said. "The job he is taking with an NFL team is simply that."
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One item you might have missed was an update on Todd Herremans' health at the end of The Inquirer's story on coaching candidate Billy Davis:
Eagles offensive lineman Todd Herremans confirmed that he recently underwent surgery on his right foot but said the surgery did not have anything to do with the dislocated cuboid bone that halted his season in November.
Herremans explained that he had an infection that required surgery, and that it was not serious.
"It's a sliver I got in my foot a year ago," said Herremans, who won the Good Guy award at Monday's Philadelphia Sports Writers Association banquet. "It's been in there bothering me. It gets infected, and then I take antibiotics and it goes away and then it comes back. It doesn't have anything do with my injury from the season."