He might be the best candidate Notre Dame can take a serious look at, because in Brian Kelly, the university has a possible hire with the makings of a blue-chip coach.

All the people who have met Kelly, who has created so much buzz around Ohio that a person might think he's coaching the Buckeyes, say the same thing: He's bright, innovative and personable, a trio of traits that neither of the university's past two coaches had all of.

It would be no hard task to deconstruct those two coaches, Ty Willingham and Charlie Weis, and say why they failed. Cut to the core, and what emerges when poring over the disassembled parts are personalities that never fit the Irish image.

Willingham's cool detachment endeared him to few of the Irish faithful, and Weis' unbridled arrogance created friction inside and outside the ivy walls of college football's most storied program.

Had Willingham and Weis won more often, their shortcomings might have been glossed over. Nobody can complain too loudly about a coach's smugness when his record stands at 12-0 and he's preparing for a BCS berth.

Should they hire Kelly, the Fighting Irish won't get a coach with the Arctic demeanor of a snowman or the cocksureness of heavyweight champ. For everything that Willingham and Weis were not, Kelly is.

Now, this is not to say Kelly, a 12-0 season at Cincinnati banked already, will turn Notre Dame into Florida, Texas, USC or Ohio State in one season. He will have to jump the same high hurdles that had been frustrations for Willingham and Weis.

As respected as its football team is, the institution prides itself on stellar academics, too. Notre Dame has been unwilling - or reluctant might be a better choice of words -- to bend its admission standards to bring on student/athletes with classroom challenges. From all accounts, Notre Dame doesn't want to churn out pro football players who can't compete in the classroom.

The university's stance is noble, and other colleges might benefit if they upheld those rigorous standards.

Yet don't think Notre Dame isn't getting its fair share of top-tier talent, tough academics or not. It remains Option No. 1 on scores of people's list. Look at Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate as examples. Any team in the country would have welcomed either of them into a recruiting class.

What Notre Dame didn't do under Willingham and Weis was get the most out of the talent the school did bring to campus. Willingham was unimaginative, a head coach loathed to taking risks. Weis coached offense as well as anyone, but he never could cobble together a stout defense. His inability to do so cost the man a job he longed to keep

His old job is in play now, and Brian Kelly's name has jumped to the top of many people's wish list.

Will his name stay there? Does his name have the sex appeal a program like Notre Dame is looking for?

To be sure, there are other names; there always are. Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer have denied having an interest in the Notre Dame job, but athletic director Jack Swarbrick should be able woo almost anybody else from the deep pool of coaching's best.

Kelly might be the flavor of the day -- the Meyer or the Les Miles of this job-hunting season. And what Kelly showed the football world last Saturday in securing the Bearcats a berth in the BCS might be the best audition tape he could have for a high-profile job like Notre Dame's.