According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Eagles are interested in Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly to be their next head coach.

Kelly has recently shot down any rumors that he'd be interested in the NFL and is currently out of the country following Notre Dame's 42-14 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship game.  The Eagles have been interested in a few other college coaches, having struck out on Chip Kelly, Bill O'Brien, and Doug Marrone over the past week.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that an interview has already taken place and the interest is "mutual."  ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on NFL Live Wednesday that Kelly's talks with the Eagles went "pretty well," and indicated Kelly has genuine interest in the Philly job.

However, SI's senior college football writer Pete Thamel has been told by a Notre Dame source that the expected result of Kelly's flirtation with the Eagles or any NFL team is a contract extension and raise from the university.  Seems like Kelly is just using the Eagles to load his pockets with more dollars from the university just like Oregon's Chip Kelly and Penn State's Bill O'Brien did this offseason.

Schefter disagrees with this premise.

"I know there are people who believe ... that this is nothing more than a leverage play," Schefter said. "But the fact of the matter is he has a 12-1 record. He got Notre Dame back to where it wanted to go. And the people who are familiar with that situation believe he has all the leverage he needs anyway, with or without the Eagles. He's interested. He's gonna continue to talk to the Eagles ... and then he'll have to make a decision about whether or not he's ready to jump to the NFL."

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