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Kelly says he’ll talk to Irish

CINCINNATI — Coach Brian Kelly confirmed on Monday that he will meet with Notre Dame officials about their open job, leaving fourth-ranked Cincinnati with a lot of uncertainty heading into its first Sugar Bowl appearance.

Kelly met with his players on Monday afternoon, and confirmed his interest in the Notre Dame job on his Twitter feed.

“Just informed our team that Notre Dame has contacted me and I will listen to what they have to say,” he tweeted.

The New York Times reported on Monday that Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh also is being interviewed for the job as Charlie Weis’ successor. Harbaugh declined to talk about it, telling the newspaper, “Not now or not in the future will I talk about any other jobs or opportunities.”

With the regular season finished, Notre Dame was lining up interviews with candidates this week.

Florida’s Urban Meyer and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops have tried to dampen speculation by saying they are staying at their schools.

Kelly told Dan Patrick on his radio show that he expects to decide his future by Saturday.

Clausen, Tate turning pro

The next Notre Dame coach is going to have to try to turn around the program without two of the best players from a .500 team.

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and his favorite receiver, Golden Tate, announced Monday they will bypass their senior seasons and enter the NFL draft. They shared the team’s most valuable player award.

The announcements were made in the same room where athletic director Jack Swarbrick revealed the firing of coach Charlie Weis a week before. Weis made his first public appearance since he was let go, sitting between Clausen and Tate during a news conference at the school’s football facility, but didn’t take any questions.

Clausen is widely expected to be taken in the first round. The only knocks on the 5-foot-11 Tate are a lack of size and experience at wideout.

Extra points

-- Mike London will replace the fired Al Groh as Virginia’s coach. London, a former assistant under Groh and the former Richmond coach, agreed to a five-year contract.

-- The University at Buffalo athletic department confirmed on Monday that the school had granted Kansas permission to interview Turner Gill regarding its vacant coaching position.

-- Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player.

Suh beat out TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes, Alabama defensive tackle Terrence Cody, Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer and Tennessee safety Eric Berry for the award.