Brian Kelly went on a Cincinnati radio station Tuesday to dismiss rumors that Nebraska had contacted him concerning the school’s football coaching vacancy.

“I have had no contact with the University of Nebraska,” the Cincinnati coach told the Ohio radio station WCKY-AM (1530). “I have not had any contact with Nebraska nor has (Cincinnati athletic director) Mike Thomas. So just another one of those Internet stories.”

On Tuesday night, Cincinnati’s Rivals.com site — bearcatlair.com — reported that Nebraska had requested and received permission to talk with Kelly.

“I think a lot of these things are generated by who you think the best candidate is and those Internet stories start to run and get twisted around,” Kelly said on radio.

If Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne’s not interviewing Kelly, there are some who think he should be.

A Massachusetts guy, Kelly once worked for Gary Hart’s 1984 presidential campaign.

You’d think a Democrat like Kelly would not be the most popular candidate in a red state like Nebraska.

Then again, we’re talking about winning football games here, not kissing babies and stump speeches.

And, as Grand Valley State athletic director Tim Selgo will tell you, “Brian knows how to win football games.”

The guy’s won enough games that he can’t keep his name from getting mentioned for about every coaching job that opens in college football.

One day, you hear Brian Kelly’s going to be the next coach at Michigan. The next, the chatter says he’s interviewing at Nebraska.

Charles Davis, former Tennessee defensive back and current college football analyst, said that if a team does interview Kelly, it would

“I don’t care what job is at stake,” Davis said. “If Brian Kelly interviews, he’s going to make you think about it, that’s for sure.”

Kelly’s 46 and regarded as being as strong a recruiter as he is a communicator. He has an affection for the spread offense. What he doesn’t know much about is losing.

His career coaching record is 146-54-2. Like Ohio State’s Jim Tressel, he established himself in a lower division of college football before getting his shot amongst the big boys.

He won two Division II titles at Grand Valley State (Mich.), making the playoffs in six of the 13 years he coached there. Considered offensive-minded by many, he actually started as a defensive coordinator.

Selgo laughs when it comes to talking about Kelly’s political background. Grand Valley State is in an area that has more people who prefer elephants to donkeys when it comes to politics.

“He can get along with Republicans and Democrats,” Selgo says.

He got along pretty well with quarterbacks, too. The last three quarterbacks he had at Grand Valley State were all finalists for the Harlan Hill Award, Division II’s equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.

After all his success at Grand Valley State, he moved up to Division I, trying his luck at Central Michigan. There, he turned a bumbling program into MAC champions in three years.

His success at CMU began to make him a hot name in coaching searches. He ended up going to Cincinnati, where his team has gone 9-3 in his first year there as head coach.

Davis remembers seeing Kelly at the Big East football media days. Kelly was miffed that no Cincinnati beat writers showed up to cover the event.

Recalled Davis: “He just came right out and immediately, established, ‘Hey, what’s the deal? If we’re going to build this thing, we need some help along the way and we don’t understand why no one’s here on this important occasion.’”

Davis spent 20 minutes talking to Kelly that day.

“And that guy captivated me for 20 minutes. I walked away feeling like this guy, there’s a special sense to this guy,” Davis said.

This year, his Cincinnati team posted wins over Rutgers, South Florida, Oregon State and Connecticut.

The losses came to Louisville, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, all games decided by less than a touchdown.

“He’s a salesman is what he is,” Grand Valley State coach Chuck Martin told ESPN.com. “Whether it’s Grand Valley State or Central Michigan or Cincinnati, he has kids believing they can move mountains. His No. 1 strength is offense. His No. 2 strength is how good he is politically at getting people to believe in the program. He sells it door to door, which not a lot of coaches will do.”

Martin recalled that when Kelly took the job at Central Michigan, someone asked the coach how long he thought the rebuilding process would take.

“About 10 seconds,” Kelly answered.

Herb Deromedi, now a retired athletic director and coach, was the one who hired Kelly at Central Michigan.

“A very confident individual,” Deromedi said. “And one would see that when they see him … I think he’s an excellent on-the-field coach and his record speaks for itself.”

Central Michigan had five straight losing seasons before Kelly took over.

Kelly had a losing season his first year at CMU. But progress came quickly. He was 9-4 by the third year, just fine with being out of politics.

Kelly recently told the New York Times he found politics too scripted nationally and too petty locally.

Political fundraising events did not have the same passion that a day on a football practice field did.

“He can sell water to a whale,” Cincinnati senior running back Mike Daniels told the Times. “He can have the worst team in college football believing they’re the best team. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

But he is Kelly content to keep selling at Cincinnati? Or is he looking to move on?

“He’s made that comment in the Cincinnati Enquirer that when he was at Central (Michigan), he was looking to go find his next place,” Deromedi said. “What he’s thinking about at Cincinnati, I have no idea.”

Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com. Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.