Chris O'meara / AP

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2009, file photo, Cincinnati head coach Brian Kelly screams at an official during a NCAA college football game against South Florida in Tampa, Fla. Cincinnati has to deal with the distraction of coach Brian Kelly being mentioned as a contender for the Notre Dame job as the Bearcats get ready to play at Pittsburgh for the Big East title and a BCS berth. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

updated 5:02 p.m. ET Dec. 22, 2009

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Texas quarterback Colt McCoy may have played a factor in Brian Kelly being the new coach at Notre Dame.

That's because if McCoy had held the ball a second longer against Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, Cincinnati likely would have been playing for the national championship instead of the Longhorns. Kelly says if that were the case, he would not have left the Bearcats before the national title game.

Kelly said on Tuesday he doesn't know if Notre Dame would have waited for him, but he knows he would have stayed to coach in the title game. He says every job he's accepted he's taken it because he wants to play for championships.

Notre Dame is hoping Kelly can lead the Irish to their first championship since 1988.

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Joe Raymond / AP

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Junior QB Everett Golson didn't put up any staggering numbers in Notre Dame's 84th annual Blue-Gold game, but Keith Arnold writes in the spring edition of Five Things that numbers can't show how much he's improved in the offseason as a leader.

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