Kelly focused on Illini

Brian Kelly has been through this every year.

A job opens and the Cincinnati football coach’s name pops up.

“It will continue to happen while I’m at the University of Cincinnati because nobody thinks Cincinnati is a destination job, so it just happens this way,” he said.

Illinois (3-7) might hope the No. 5 Bearcats (10-0) are distracted Friday when they host the Illini because Kelly’s name is at or near the top of the rumored list to take over if Notre Dame fires head coach Charlie Weis.

The Bearcats need tunnel vision to stay on track with two games remaining and the Big East title and a spot in the national championship game still feasible.

Kelly knows things could be worse than to be mentioned as a potential candidate for a high-paying, high-profile job.

“I guess it’s better than being on the other side of that,” Kelly said. “They’re talking about, let’s see: Charlie Weis, (Kansas’) Mark Mangino, (LSU’s) Les Miles. To give due respect to all the coaches that are supposedly on the hot seat — there are like 10 coaches. I don’t want to be one of them because that really hurts your recruiting.”

There are obvious reasons Kelly’s name arises as part of the who’s-next question for coaching vacancies.

The Bearcats won 10 games in his first season and the Big East title in his second. In his third year, they are off to the best start in school history and can win another conference title if they beat Pittsburgh after this week’s game against Illinois.

Kelly said he’s worried more about how his team will transition back to quarterback Tony Pike, who will start his first game since injuring his non-throwing arm against South Florida on Oct. 15. Backup Zach Collaros, who started four games and is more of a running quarterback, could play depending on the situation, Kelly said.

Pike will be wearing a cast on the non-throwing arm, and Kelly said they have been focusing on him keeping the arm up to help him maintain a proper throwing motion.

Kelly said he has let his players know that if any news breaks, he will be the one to make the announcement. He said there’s nothing to talk about now, but that’s not exactly a disclaimer that says he’s a Cincinnati lifer.

“If there’s anything I need to talk to them about we’ll talk to them as a football team,” Kelly said. “They know I’m going to be up front and honest with them. We’re here to win a championship — national championship and Big East championship.”