Brian Kelly and Rutgers football? Here's what the former coach is saying

Rutgers football’s poor start to the season has drawn speculation and questions about the direction of the program, and that includes whether athletic director Keli Zinn will at some point decide a change of leadership is needed.

One name that has been constantly connected to the job should Zinn ever decide to move away from Greg Schiano is Brian Kelly, who was the head coach at Louisiana State when Zinn and current Rutgers president William Tate were both at LSU.

Kelly, who previously coached at Notre Dame and Cincinnati, is now an analyst with CBS but has made it known he wants to get back into coaching.

He’s considered to be one of the leading names in the next coaching cycle.

But being connected to any job right now – while a current head coach is still leading the program – isn’t something Kelly is welcoming.

“You can imagine coming from my perspective as a sitting football coach when I was in that position, you hate hearing the rumors because it means somebody’s job is being evaluated,” Kelly told SiriusXM’s College Sports Radio. “I feel uneasy about it. I think we all know it’s something that gets out in the media and it’s talked about because it’s juicy. For me, I just focus on what I’m doing on a day-to-day basis. Those things take care of themselves. Those that are making those decisions, they have a plan.”

To be clear, Kelly was not asked specifically about the Rutgers job and he didn’t mention the school or Schiano.

While Kelly said he understands it’s part of the business, “I don’t relish when my name’s mentioned for other jobs. I’m pulling for the guy that’s got that job and I want to see him do well.”

One result of this has also been social media videos and memes circulating about Kelly adapting a New Jersey accent – a reference to the now infamous speech he gave at an LSU basketball game where he seemed to be briefly adapt a southern dialect.

Kelly said his son, who works in operations at Ole Miss, sent him some of the posts.

“I think they just feel like I can fake any accent no matter where I go,” Kelly said. “I can do the New Jersey accent. I can do any one you want.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Brian Kelly and Rutgers football? Here's what the former coach is saying