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Kelly: I’m not interested in options outside Notre Dame

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly yells to his team during the first half of Saturday’s loss at USC. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Associated Press
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly yells to his team during the first half of Saturday’s loss at USC. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly reiterated early Sunday that he plans to be back as coach of the Fighting Irish after a 45-27 loss to rival Southern California dropped the Fighting Irish to 4-8, their second-worst record in five decades.

Kelly said in the postgame news conference Saturday that “Absolutely. I’ll be back.”

Hours later, Yahoo Sports reported that Kelly had reached out through representatives to explore coaching options outside Notre Dame. About 3:40 a.m. Sunday, the school tweeted a statement from Kelly saying he thought he had been clear that he plans to return.

“I have not been, am not, and will not be interested in options outside of Notre Dame. I’m fully committed to leading this program in the future,” Kelly said in a tweet.

Because Kelly said he wouldn’t stay in California recruiting as long as he has in past seasons after finishing the season, some compared that to 2009 when Charlie Weis returned to South Bend after a loss at Stanford and was fired. Kelly didn’t return with the team to South Bend after the loss on Saturday, but acknowledged he’s coming back early.

“I don’t believe I’m coming back early because I’m getting fired,” he said.

Kelly said Saturday he wasn’t surprised about the speculation about his job status.

“You can’t be surprised when you go 4-8 that you’re going to get those questions asked as well,” he said.

Kelly said he plans to conduct exit interviews with players Wednesday through Friday to get an idea on what changes need to be made. He said he has to evaluate a lot of things, including his assistant coaches.

“I’ve always felt the continuity of blend and change is the sweet spot. For me, we need to clearly look at where that is because it was off,” he said.