Brian Kelly staying with Notre Dame, passes on NFL

At the end of a tough week for Notre Dame, Brian Kelly provided the Irish luck at last.

The third-year coach, who interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles job, announced Saturday that he is staying in South Bend, Ind.

"This week, I had an incredible opportunity to speak with one of the premier organizations in sports about becoming their head coach," Kelly said in the statement released by Notre Dame. "Like every kid who has ever put on a pair of football cleats, I have had thoughts about being a part of the NFL. However, after much reflection and conversation with those closest to me, I have decided to remain at Notre Dame."

The Eagles also released a statement, which didn't mention Kelly by name.

"There is no question we spent a considerable amount of time and effort looking at who we thought were the best collegiate candidates for our head coaching job," the Eagles release said. "We did so knowing that there was a remote chance that these coaches would leave their current posts.

"We understood that going into the process, but we wanted to leave no stone unturned while trying to find the best head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. We have no regrets about the effort we made in that direction and we will continue to proceed as planned in our search."

Kelly's Irish went 12-0 in the regular season before losing to Alabama 42-14 in the BCS title game on Monday night. The Notre Dame men's basketball team continued the run of bad luck earlier Saturday as the Irish lost to Connecticut, snapping their 12-game home winning streak.

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"This decision was motivated purely by my love for Notre Dame and the entire Fighting Irish community, the young men I have the great fortune to coach, and my desire to continue to build the best football program in the country," Kelly said in the release. "We still have a lot of work to do and my staff and I are excited about the challenges ahead."

Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick said in the release: "I was always confident that Brian would continue to lead our football program. I am very happy to have that confirmed and share Brian's excitement about what lies ahead for our program.

"I appreciate the Eagles reaching out to request permission to speak with Brian, and I also appreciate Brian keeping me fully informed throughout this process."

Following the 2011 season, Notre Dame extended Kelly's initial agreement by two years, a move that keeps him under contract through the 2016 season. Last week on the eve of the BCS National Championship game, Swarbrick said Kelly's contract and all other matters related to the program would be on the table for discussion when he and Kelly have their annual post-season chat.

"Every year when we're done, we talk about whatever the program needs," Swarbrick said then. "It's been reflected in staff hires, equipment, all kinds of things that you do to make sure the program has the resources that it needs. We go through a laundry list of those. Everything that goes into the program is on the table when we have those discussions."