I think there are two ways to look at what is going on in the Irish coaching search.  Number one, and the most likely candidate, is that this is just your typical Notre Dame football cluster.  The favorite candidates turned it down early and somehow we're screwing things up with the perfectly acceptable* back-up so that your next Irish coach is going to be CJ Keeler because he's available, a winner, and wears sunglasses at night. 

*Unless you are a crazy person, at which point this search failed the minute Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer didn't leave their four million dollar salaries, happy families and comfortable homes to move to a place where the high is 13 degrees today.  If you feel that way, please head on over here and meet with your support group.

The other candidate for what is going on is that save for the Brian Kelly tweets - which were hacked, then not hacked, then not on Twitter because seriously, Brian, pull yourself together -Swarbrick is actually doing a great job of keeping things locked down, and the desperate journalists, message boarders and bloggers are just creating their own echo chamber of news to drown out the voices in their heads.  Pete Thamel wrongly reports Harbaugh is interviewing.  ESPN is pushing Edsall, perhaps just because he's the nearest somewhat believable hire to Bristol and a fun story to tell with the win at Notre Dame and how he rallied the team following some very tragic circumstances.  All the while the "program insiders" just wildly speculate about time tables, and when you couple that with ESPNews mentioning Edsall every half hour, everyone online just loses their damn mind.  There have been multiple times over the last couple days where a friend or I would step away for work or class for an hour or two and return to sheer chaos across the entire Irish internet.  The people - they are desperate.

Now, we do know one thing for absolute certain, and that's that Swarbrick is talking to Kelly.  Kelly tweeted it, and for that reason alone, we're going to assume it's true.  There's no point in saying that the New York Times or ESPN also reported it, because they'll report anything at this point for clicks and eyeballs.  (I don't blame them, but don't take anything they say seriously, either.)  I wouldn't be totally surprised to find out that Swarbrick was using this as a teaching opportunity for the Notre Dame fanbase and for Brian Kelly.  For the crazier segment of Irish fans complaining about Kelly, this is Captain Jack reminding them that it could get a whole, whole lot worse.  For Kelly, it's just a reminder that there are other options and that if he's asking for too much, he can kindly spend another year with the robust facilities in the Queen City.  Does Kelly call Swarbrick's bluff on Edsall, or the so-called mystery candidates (Tuberville?  Urban again?  Riley?  Ferentz?  Leach?  Charlie Strong, who now has head coaching experience?)?   Or is Kelly just waiting the Bearcats' end of season banquet tonight to say his goodbyes and then moving on to South Bend, bringing his old coordinator from Grand Valley with him?

Hopefully this is cleaned up by the end of the week, but honestly, anyone who claims to say that for certain probably said this would be locked up by last weekend, so let's just hold on for the ride.   The next time someone gives you a nice piece of rumor that seems legitimate, just remember that the same person was telling you Stoops name was on a contract a week ago and that Kelly was going to be announced in an afternoon presser earlier in the week.  No one knows anything, and that's okay, but keep that in mind at 12:37pm today when everyone freaks out because a very legit-sounding Mark Mangino rumor pops up.

*

On a more pleasant note, Golden Tate should be receiving a shiny new Biletnikoff Award this evening in New York City, honoring him as the best receiver in college football.  Now there's a chance that Jordan Shipley wins it, meaning two things: 1) I will curse very loudly and 2) Colt McCoy is most definitely your Heisman winner.  When McCoy and Shipley start stealing awards, just remember they deserve it their great performance against Central Florida (Shipley had 11 catches for 273 and a touchdown, McCoy threw for 470).  Just give them the courtesy of not looking at their combined numbers against Oklahoma and Nebraska, otherwise known as the only two good defenses they played all year.

(In case you're curious, McCoy had 311 yards passing, one touchdown and four picks combined in those two games, while Shipley lit up the stat sheet for 11 catches and 93 yards.)

If Freddie Barnes wins it, I'll be confused but accept it.  Barnes had 138 catches and 16 TDs this season, which is patently absurd.  He still, however, does not deserve it over Golden.  Good luck tonight, #23.