Who Will Be The Next Head Football Coach At Notre Dame

• pooter

  Maybe the next coach will come to Ohio and recruit from our Catholic Schools.
• karen lotz

  

  pooter wrote: Maybe the next coach will come to Ohio and recruit from our Catholic Schools.

  I think Weis did a fairly good job recruiting from Ohio catholic schools. McCarthys, Rudolph, John Ryan, Robby Parris, Bobby Burger
• Heretic

  

  killer_ewok wrote:

  Heretic wrote: I'd go with Stoops. It's a good match for them both. ND needs a big name to continue being taken seriously (you combine a currently-mediocre program with a coach without a big national resume and that's basically conceding you're rebuilding, which never is good when you have the huge following they have combined with their own network in NBC).
  
  It also works for Stoops because, while an excellent coach, he's lost a good number of big games in the recent past and this season was a big disappointment. Obviously, the loss of Bradford was the main reason for this, but the bigger your program is, the less likely fans will tolerate ANY excuse for losing.
  
  It's the perfect combination: a big-name coach for them and a viable "change of scenery" for him if he's feeling heat due to those big-game losses.

  Very good post. I'd add the loss of Tight End Jermaine Gresham as pretty big too but as you said....the bigger the program....a lesser tolerance for excuses. And while Stoops' teams have come up short recently in their "biggest" games.....they did kick a lot of ranked ass (at time of game and/or final polls) last season. But, point taken and good post.

  I agree with everything you said. From my perspective as a Buckeye fan, though, there is a sizable (or at least vocal to the point it seems super-huge) group of fans who detest Tressel. Under him, the team's kicked a lot of ranked ass and even dominated the arch-rival, but they've lost three straight BCS games (two for the NC) and the natives are restless. I'd guess Oklahoma is like OSU, where a national championship is more an expectation than a hope for many fans, so I'd also guess that a vocal group of Oklahoma fans would love to see him gone.
• killer_ewok

  

  Heretic wrote:

  killer_ewok wrote:

  Heretic wrote: I'd go with Stoops. It's a good match for them both. ND needs a big name to continue being taken seriously (you combine a currently-mediocre program with a coach without a big national resume and that's basically conceding you're rebuilding, which never is good when you have the huge following they have combined with their own network in NBC).
  
  It also works for Stoops because, while an excellent coach, he's lost a good number of big games in the recent past and this season was a big disappointment. Obviously, the loss of Bradford was the main reason for this, but the bigger your program is, the less likely fans will tolerate ANY excuse for losing.
  
  It's the perfect combination: a big-name coach for them and a viable "change of scenery" for him if he's feeling heat due to those big-game losses.

  Very good post. I'd add the loss of Tight End Jermaine Gresham as pretty big too but as you said....the bigger the program....a lesser tolerance for excuses. And while Stoops' teams have come up short recently in their "biggest" games.....they did kick a lot of ranked ass (at time of game and/or final polls) last season. But, point taken and good post.

  I agree with everything you said. From my perspective as a Buckeye fan, though, there is a sizable (or at least vocal to the point it seems super-huge) group of fans who detest Tressel. Under him, the team's kicked a lot of ranked ass and even dominated the arch-rival, but they've lost three straight BCS games (two for the NC) and the natives are restless. I'd guess Oklahoma is like OSU, where a national championship is more an expectation than a hope for many fans, so I'd also guess that a vocal group of Oklahoma fans would love to see him gone.

  You're dead on there. Totally agree.
• elbuckeye28

  I'm just confused as to why people are so confident it's Bob Stoops. I must be missing something. Not saying he won't be, but what is the evidence that he will be.
• steel_curtain

  Most of the ND paysites have pretty much confirmed it as well as alot of well connected posters.
• Soda Popinski

  I voted for Gruden although I know that is highly unlikely.
• mucalum49

  

  A little information off of ESPN Insider about a name that hasn't been brought up yet...
  
  Brian Hamilton of the Chicago Tribune first included UNC coach Butch Davis on his list of possible successors to Charlie Weis eight days ago, and Davis is still on the Trib's updated list today -- as one of the "favorites," no less, behind Brian Kelly, Bob Stoops and Gary Patterson.
• fan_from_texas

  Mr Pat wrote: Just out of curiousity fft, did you pick anybody?

  Stoops, for all the reasons other people mentioned. It's a good change of scenery for him.
  
  I read an article a week or two ago in the Chi Tribune about Fitzgerald/Notre Dame. He was asked if he was considering the Notre Dame job because he was such a huge fan. His response was something to the effect of, "I was a Notre Dame fan 20 years ago, but they didn't bother recruiting me, and when I went to the campus, I didn't like it. I haven't given Notre Dame much of a though since, and I have absolutely no interest in the position."
• ohiotiger33

  

  Put Paul Johnson from GT on this list.
• derek bomar

  

  ohiotiger33 wrote: Put Paul Johnson from GT on this list.

  not.a.chance.
• Hamp89

  Looks like the players have a team meeting today to decide if they want to attend a bowl game:
  
  http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4700243
• devil1197

  Go to the damn bowl game if they are invited. There are a ton of teams and seniors out there that would die for another game especially a bowl game that most likely will be on TV and you receive some free stuff.
• rocket31

  just saw this as well hamp.
  
  i have mixed feelings about playing in such a low-tier bowl against central michigan??? (the espn bowl projection)
  
  it will be interesting to see what the team decides.
• Tiernan

  Hilarious that ND is being considerd for any bowl game.
• rocket31

  Tiernan wrote: Hilarious that ND is being considerd for any bowl game.

  i guarantee you notre dame is most appealing 6-6 team in the country
• Hamp89

  I doubt they will attend a game this year. Most likely they'll be without Weis, and a new coach (if hired soon) would not want to coach the team in a bowl game.
• vball10set

  I'll go with Brian Kelly--and sleeper,you really are embarrassing us Buckeye fans--please stop
• Tiernan

  ND will be absolutely ridiculed if they elect to play in the Maaco Bowl, Emeralds Cashew Bowl, Meinke Bowl, Lil Caesars Bowl but that is what they are looking at with 6 -6 record. Or if they really aspire to play maybe an 8 - 4 team, they might get to the Roady's Humanitarioan Bowl in Boise (Whatta treat that would be on Dec 30!)
• Mr Pat

  Tiernan, they were 6-6 last year and played a WAC team. Then again, it was in Hawaii and who turns down a trip to Hawaii?
• pooter

  I'm not sure a new coach will win there either.... ND will have to lower some standards in recruiting.... I'm not sure they're willing to do that.... I could be wrong after seeing their selection of past speakers though...
• The Equalizer

  

  We got Clausen, Crist, Floyd, Teo, Tate, Rudolph, etc etc etc with those standards. It's not the grocery shopping that's the problem, it's that charlie didn't know how to put them together for a recipe....ironic as that is.
• rocket31

  pooter wrote: I'm not sure a new coach will win there either.... ND will have to lower some standards in recruiting.... I'm not sure they're willing to do that.... I could be wrong after seeing their selection of past speakers though...

  there should seriously be an IQ test one needs to pass to get the privileges to post here.
• krambman

  

  If the ND athletic department is right, the first call you make is to Urban Meyer. Meyer will say no (although if they weren't playing for a shot at a national championship this week, I think he'd hear them out), then you call Stoops second. If the rumors are true, he'll listen and probably sit down for an interview, and to be honest, if he's going to leave OU, this is the perfect time to do it after the season they've had. If he or the school decides not to make a deal then I think you call Brian Kelly, Kirk Ferentz, and Pat Fitzgerald. Kelly and Ferentz would listed, but I really don't think Fitzgerald would leave Northwestern right now. I think that Harbough would be very interested if called, but I also think that he's hoping RichRob will get the ax in Ann Arbor in a year or two.
  
  I think that Stoops or Kelly ultimately ends up in South Bend.
• wes_mantooth

  

  One of the talking heads on espn is saying that Kelly is the logical choice. I still think Stoops may leave if the price is right.