Swarbrick Outlines What He is Looking For

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Jack Swarbrick gave some clues as to what he will be looking for in the next head coach for Notre Dame on Monday. (Photo - IconSMI)

Notre Dame AD Jack Swarbrick didn’t give fans and media an exact blueprint of what he is looking for in Charlie Weis’s successor, but he did give some clues as to the criteria that he will be using during his first high profile coaching search as an athletic director.

Previous college head coaching experience

The first clue Swarbrick gave came when he said that Notre Dame is looking for someone with experience building a college program. “I think I will say that it is important to us to look first and foremost at people who have demonstrated an ability to build and sustain a Division I college football program,” he said in response to a question about what was important to him in the next head coach.

After hiring coaches with zero head coaching experience at either the NFL or collegiate level twice in the last three coaching searches, it looks like Notre Dame has learned its lesson and won’t be taking a chance on finding the next up and coming coordinator as they did with Bob Davie in 1996 and Charlie Weis in 2004.

This could mean that Swarbrick will not be looking to the NFL again as his predecessor Kevin White did in hiring Charlie Weis five years ago. That would make Jon Gruden, a long time fascination of many Notre Dame fans, seem like a long shot. It could also mean that we won’t have to sift through message board posts lauding the accomplishments of former candidates Greg Blanche (Washington Redskins DC) and Tom Clements (Green Bay Packers QB Coach).

Swarbrick’s comments Monday made it seem as though past college head coaching experience was crucial this time around. “It certainly helps to have the evidence that someone has been able to do it, that they have succeeded in building and sustaining a Division I program. That’s important,” he said Monday.

Defensive Minded

Considering how well documented Notre Dame’s defensive struggles have been this year, it should come as no surprise to anyone that Swarbrick expressed a desire for Notre Dame to play good defense moving forward.
“I don’t think you can afford to be that narrow in your approach to candidates,” Swarbrick said. “My personal view is that given where we play and who we play, we need to be able to play good defense. And if you look at the defensive rankings of the leading teams this year, there’s a correlation between BCS standings and defensive abilities, and so it’s important to us, but it’s not a limiter in terms of the background of the coach.”

The problem with the tenures of Bob Davie and Charlie Weis were that neither coach was ever able to find the right person to run the side of the ball they were unfamiliar with. For Davie, neither Jim Colletto or Kevin Rogers were able to build a strong offense for him. For Weis, he tried three defensive coordinators with Rick Minter (2005-06), Corwin Brown (2007-08), and Jon Tenuta (2009) but could never field a defense that ranked in the top 30 nationally.

Ty Willingham had experience on both sides of the ball prior to becoming a head coach and ironically had troubles on both sides of the ball during his time at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame can land a coach that will install a tough defense without hiring one that has strictly a defensive background though. Hiring a coach with a strong appreciation for the defensive side of the ball who will bring in a strong group of assistant coaches to build the defense would do the trick as well.

Take a look at Pete Carroll at USC.  He had a strong defensive background, but built USC to where it is today thanks in large part to some dynamic offenses. He wasn’t an offensive mind coach, but he brought in Norm Chow as his offensive coordinator and he was able to compliment his skills nicely.

If Notre Dame goes after an offensive minded coach, whoever that is will need to bring a defensive coordinator that compliments him like Chow did for Carroll.

Must embrace the “student” aspect of “student-athlete”

The last clue Swarbrick gave Monday was the most obvious. Whoever replaces Charlie Weis must be interested in the student aspect of student athletes and take the graduation rate seriously. Notre Dame isn’t about to abandon its stance on the importance of academics in college athletics and the next coach will have to demonstrate that he is willing to take that seriously.  While Notre Dame has an excellent support staff in place to help its student athletes with their studies, the head coach must instill the importance of academics to his team .

Finding a coach that embraces this isn’t something that Swarbrick sees as being a stumbling block in his search.  “For people who value our approach to collegiate athletics and for people who are excited about being the coach that restores Notre Dame to a place of prominence in college football, I think they’ll be so excited to come, it’ll be an easy marriage,” he explained Monday.

Swarbrick sounded confident on Monday that he would be able to find the right coach for Notre Dame that matched up well with the criteria he has developed for his search. While there may have been some hurdles in the past that have hindered past coaching searches, Swarbrick doesn’t feel they exist this time around.

“I think for some of this period of time, there may have been some foundational issues. Were the facilities good enough? Could you demonstrate the ability to bring in the student athletes you need to win at this level?” Swarbrick explained. “I frankly think all of those have been addressed in various ways in recent years, and so I think the whole key is leadership.”

“I believe our ability to take the next step and return to a level of prominence is all about bringing the right individual in here,” he would add.

Swarbrick sounded like the man with plan who knew exactly what he was looking for in his next head coach. Let’s hope that is the case and that Swarbrick’s plan lands Notre Dame its next great head coach and that we aren’t sitting here in another four or five years wondering if Urban Meyer is finally tired of winning national championships at Florida.

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54 Comments

  1. How about Cutcliff, I thought he was good at Ole Miss and look how much better duke has gotten or even Huston Nutt< I think he is a good coach, just to throw some more out there.

  2. At 6-6 with no head coach, I don’t think this team should accept a bowl bid. The only acception would be the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Why the Meineke Car Care bowl you ask? Because Boston College is slated for that bowl and nothing would make me happier than to “bump” BC to a lesser bowl and piss off a certain BC freak who has it comming. I wouldn’t care if we won or lost as long as BC got bumped by ND! That would make up for a crap-filled season. That would make my day.

    1. Lol. We haven’t seen that character on here for a while. It would piss him off to no end….and I would love it!

  3. Oh, and one little side note on Weis. I have to say I feel bad for him now. But I’m glad they are taking a new direction. He might have been college football’s version of Doug Collins. But he will succeed as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. Heck I could see Belichek taking him back and grooming him for a head job. Bill needs him. Maybe trade for Brady Quinn since Tommy boy only has a few good years left. Also, if Weis steps back and grows, he could be a dominant NFL head coach. 40-60 hours a week is a lot more time to prepare than 16 ( 20 minus gameday ). Just ask USC players.

    Farewell, Charlie, even though it didn’t work out, you sure cleaned up a horrible mess and left ND prepared to move forward. Good Luck and God Bless your family.

  4. There is more than “one right guy”, but you have to looks at all facets here; that includes everything that comes along with being a UND coach. I believe Kelly will be it … only time will tell with this one.

    Exciting times, none-the-less.

    J

  5. Holy crap!! Everyone and I mean everyone is talking about this. Do a google search on Notre Dame football news and the articles are in the thousands each day. Amazing.

    Shazam, thanks for referring to my ESPN post. I feel sometimes repetitive, but it was so obvious yesterday. I don’t want it either, but it’s so obvious if ESPN covered ND, the price tag would be lower but the coverage would lavish. Those guys see Mary on top of the Dome and remember being the nerd who got laughed at for asking the prom queen to dance just before the football team gave them the swirlie. Ivan Maisel reminds me of the water boy/trainer who drooled to be near the football players even as they teased him and treated him like crud. They are so jealous.

    But in all seriousness, I don’t think anything is going to happen this week. Swarbrick is a planner and will figure this out before one phone call is made. And next week is when they should start. There are too many important games this weekend and the A-list candidates need to focus. ND needs their attention after that
    period. Swarbrick could call some NFL guys, but I’d bet he’s not looking there. There’s more than one right guy.

    1. C-Dog,

      It pisses me off to no end that these so called “sports writers” can spew this crap with no repercussions.
      After Willingham left to work his magic in Washington the cubbord WAS bare. But after 4 top ten recruiting classes by Weis, there is plenty of talent remaining.
      Remember these same experts predicted ND to finish 9-3 this year and then contend for a national title next year? Who says that it still can’t happen with the right guy calling the shots?
      And how about this kid Louis Nix commiting to ND and he doesn’t even know who his head coach will be. It speaks volumes for the School and it’s football tradition. He’s already one of my favorite players and hasn’t even stepped on the field yet.

  6. Oh, and do not buy into the “luster is off” at UND. We can still win … we just need a coach to turn things around.

    I just love listening to the UND haters talk their talk about how UND is not an “elite” program anymore. They are idiots. I played college ball; all it takes is a coach to inspire the players to win, and then good things happen after that. Enough said.

    Go Irish … and God Bless all of you!

    J

  7. Also, screw Urban … he turned down the University once, and has said he is happy at Florida. He “ain’t” coming to UND. Personally, I don’t want a guy that isn’t committed to the program; let him live or die down in Florida-ville.

    J

  8. We also still have J.R.Ferguson (DE) out there considering Notre Dame. He is up there with Chris Martin from a talent standpoint and would appear to be more disciplined (Hargrave Military Academy) than the fellow who just ran away from us now that his “Jersey” connection won’t be coaching here anymore.

  9. Brian Kelly is it folks … listen to his latest press conference. Being a PR / Journalist guy, he basically lays it out without saying it outright since he has a game against Pitt this week. Trust me.

    J

  10. 6’2″ 320 lb Defensive Tackle from Florida. Was committed to Miami – just decommitted tonight and gave a strong verbal to Notre Dame. ESPN 150 – 4 stars, if that means anything. My guess is he jumped on our bandwagon as soon as Chris Martin jumped off. Martin was an end, but this helps us with some meat in the middle.

  11. As a Kentucky resident and HUGE UK Basketball fan, Im hoping we get someone awesome that no one is talking about. How about Les Miles from LSU? Or Mark Richt from Georgia? Chip Kelly from Oregon?

  12. Louis Nix just committed to Notre Dame. Looks like change can be good. I believe CW played favorites a bit and some of the guys that were rumored earlier to be leaving (Shaq & Jonas) hopefully will now be sticking around as they will have a fresh start. CW was also a stickler on grades as well and perhaps those two were falling behing in their studies. Back in our era, that got us a visit to Mike DeCicco’s office for a chewing.

    Hopefully we’ll see some more big commits like Nix coming off the fence now that they see a change is coming.

  13. Stoops is not leaving Norman. He’s building a new home out by Toby Keith’s place and his wife has a personal business in Norman. He also told the press here today that going to ND is definately out. Although I have enjoyed seeing the ND haters around here squirm with envy. Bring back Lou Holtz…… K-State did it this year. “Let Mark May coach O-Line” LOL
    GO IRISH!!

  14. Reread IrishChan above, out of the hundreds of posts and articles I’ve read over the past two days (many from the so called experts), IrishChan is absolutely dead on. He gets college football and he gets Notre Dame.

    One person who should be added to the Kelly, Fitzgerald, Harbaugh group is Randy Edsall from Connecticut. UCONN’s football program is very similar to Notre Dame, Virginia, Northwestern, Stanford, and a few other deserving schools that I do not follow closely, in that they will not jeopardize graduation rates and the reputation of the university for football success. It’s all about the student-athlete (college athletics it’s called). Selecting and developing the right student athlete to be successful on the football field, in the class room and in life. As a Notre Dame graduate, I will never ever apologize for that philosophy.

    Coach Edsall runs one of the cleanest and classiest programs and wins with mainly one and two star recruits. Extremely impressive. A Notre Dame alumni pointed out to me during the UCONN-ND weekend, that ND had 60 high star recruits on its roster vs. four for UCONN. I do not need to get into specifics how Coach Edsall outcoached and won at Notre Dame stadium with just four high star recruits.

    If Connecticut was located in an area of hotbed recruits such as Florida, Texas, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, Coach Edsall could take UCONN to the highest level – just like UCONN’s men’s and women’s basketball. Unfortunately, Coach Edsall has to find diamonds in the rough (outside CT) and develop these athletes over four and five years. Last year, UCONN had four players selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft. Two were one start recruits and two were two start recruits. How impressive is that. That’s called developing players we havn’t scene since Lou Holtz.

    No doubt whatsoever that Randy Edsall is in the same category as Kelly, Harbaugh and Fitzgerald. With respect to expereince, Kelly and Edsall are at the top of this selected list. What these four coaches have proven is that they can win with Notre Dame type players who were only one and two star recruits. Scary to think about this. Can you imagine what they could do with ND three, four and five star recruits. Kudos to these four coaches.

    Difficult question that needs to be answered is that can Stoops and Meyer win with ND type players? I do not know enough about TCU’s Patterson, but if IrishChan says TCU runs a consistently clean and impressive program like Notre Dame, then include Patterson in the second group identified who have demonstrated college football success with clean and impressive programs (not just ND!; give credit to UCONN, Northwestern, Stanford, Virginia and the other schools).

    To answer the big question (Hawkins Boise State–> Colorado question), can these two top notch coaches (Meyer and Stoops) win with ND type players vs. the tremendously talented (yet many dubious student athletes) atheletes at Florida and Oklahoma. With respect to offense, the answer is 100% yes. ND can recruit the same talent. The QB talent, skilled RBs and WRs and offensive lineman Notre Dame can and has recruited is absolutely on the same level that exists at Florida and Oklahoma.

    The more challenging area is defense. Notre Dame could always recruit top notch linebackers over the years, however, that has diminished since Lou Holtz left. I believe we can recruit linebackers at the same level of any other major university including Penn State levels. Hell, Penn State’s Pulnowsky would have loved to play for ND but Ty’s recruiting ability ruined that strong possibility). The problem area is defensive lineman and defensive backs. That’s all it comes down too with respect to: Can Stoops and Meyer win with ND type players?

    What Lou Holtz did (and I understand Paterson at TCU) was take the low number of highly talented DB and DLs we can (unlike huge numbers annually recruited by Florida, LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma; who throw out half of these like pieces of meat) and then over recruit linebackers and running backs and turn them into DL and DB. Fran Stams, Chris Zorich, Rod Smith come to mind quickly.

    Here’s my point. I believe Stoopes and Meyer would be tremendously successful at Notre Dame because we could obtain 100% of their (Florida and Oklahoma) talent on offense and linebacker, if not better. We may only recruit 80-90% of talent at DB and DL, but a true coach will develop players to fill the 10-20% gap.

    That’s what Randy Edsall, Harbaugh, Patterson, and Fitzgerald do all the time.

    So who do we take? No brainer to go after Meyer and Stoopes. If that doesn’t happen, you have Kelly, Paterson, Fitzgerald, Harbaugh and Randy Edsall.

    I believe the answer will be determined by Swarbrick and the college football gods. Swarbrick has handled this excellently this far (both what we know and don’t know) – think we are in good hands. I just hope the college football Gods sprinkle the gold dust our way, because it has been a long long time since Lou Holtz and the late 80’s and early 90’s.

    1. Ndbitz-
      Your post is the first I have read where I didn’t visualize some guy sitting in front of the computer wearing a 1930’s leather Irish helmet and a Rudy jersey, looking up Stoops and Myers on Twitter to send them tweets on how they could become the next Rockne. It’s refreshing to see another die hard Irish fan able to make suggestions without the post dripping of emotion and lack of research. Well Done!

      I was at the ND vs UConn game and was really impressed by the coaching as well as the kids. They came into Notre Dame Stadium and played their hearts out. To be honest I hadn’t really considered him due to not knowing if they were having a uniquely great game, or the ND defense made his schemes look brilliant. Either way, I will certainly spend some time in looking into his system and the UConn program a bit more in the next few days.

      Personally ndbitz, I’m thinking many Irish fans are going to get a rude slap of reality in the coming days or weeks. So far everybody has been distancing themselves from our program. Now, as I stated earlier, it could be “lip service,” to their programs. Wasn’t it last year that a coach was fired out east for listening to an offer from another program?
      The point is, there are some great….great coaches around the country (D-coordinators and head coaches) that aren’t on the college football hall-of-fame watch list yet! If we can land a big name, great, but I’m counting on landing a strong coach that will become a big name coach.

      In my eyes ND is the best school and program in the country, however the reality is that we are going to have to win a hell of a lot of games for the sports media and coaches around the country to fear ND again.

      We can and will do it…but all of us need to stop asking our 88’ 5.0 mustang to be a 69’ Shelby Cobra. The Fighting Irish can be a NC contender again, but we NEED to be a 9-3 to 10-2 team for several years in a row in order to do it.

      GO IRISH!!!!!!

  15. don’t give up on BS or BK yet.

    For one, I haven’t seen any solid report of a denial by Stoops. I’ve heard the audio of him say he’s at OU and will be in the foreseeable future, but I also heard the audio where he refused (and I mean REFUSED) to put the ND rumors to bed. I also think it’s very very interesting that every rumor I’ve seen that Stoops isn’t interested in ND seems to have come from the Norman area. If you don’t think OU fans would do EVERYTHING in their power to dissuade/disenfranchise/derail ND efforts at Stoops, you’re nuts.

    Secondly, BK’s regular season isn’t finished. It may be that BK has indicated he won’t even consider ND till he gets that Big East Championship this week. That seems to be very Reasonable to me.

    Finally, I’m not even going to consider Herbie. God bless him, he’s an OSU alum. He wants BK out of Ohio so bad you have no idea.

    I’m not here to fuel rumors one way or the other, I just don’t think we should be closing the door on those two yet. There’s also still a large number of candidates to consider, this search could be a long way from over.

  16. Surely not Harbaugh…please not Harbaugh. We need a coach who has a longer/more experienced coaching regimen. Here are his career stats:

    46-25 overall (and only 17-19 at Stanford); 0-0 bowl games; 0 conference championships (unless you count the 2 conference championships with won with San Diego)

    We need someone with a proven track record of consistent winning and Harbaugh isn’t that man. Plus I feel like He’s gonna get a nice fat contract extension soon like everyone else worth taking.

    Bronco Mendenhall and Tommy Tuberville would be solid choices I think.

  17. I’m seeing reports out there that Brian Kelly isn’t even on the ND short list. We know Meyer isn’t coming, Stoops isn’t coming, Patterson just got rich over this, and Kelly is getting an new contract at Cincy. Like the 3 previous coaching searches, these names do not want to come to ND, they just use it for leverage.

    I’m starting to get the feeling that is is not going to go as all of us had hoped. To top it off, we just lost our best defensive recruit. I do not think we are going to get a major player in the coaching ranks, but rather a solid coach that has proven he can run a program. Jack said there is a lot of interest in this job, but I’m wondering if this interest is just to get a pay raise at their current position.

    Just like none of us had confidence that Charlie could turn this around, I do not have confidence ND can get a front-line coach. Hopefully I’m wrong.

  18. Someone who I am close to is active with Mike Stoops program at Arizona. This information was “passed” onto him from a representative of Mike Stoops. Take it for what it’s worth, maybe so maybe not.

  19. MikeRomo,

    What political views are you referring to exactly? What are your sources? If ND can invite Pres. Obama and Pres. Bush both to campus, short of Kelly either being a fascist or a communist, I just don’t see where politics enters into this discussion. We know that Kelly is Catholic, but that’s irrelevant too since Ara wasn’t.

  20. I was told that Swarbrick offered the job to Stoops but with a lower annual salary than the one he is currently making at OU but with a longer contract. ND is doomed!! No Stoops, no Peterson, Kelly will not be offered the job because of his political views. Can’t be serious about Jim Harbaugh?

  21. Cluasen and Tate should stay another yr and this is why.

    It is my philosophy that an athelete should stay in school for 4 yrs with the exception of RB’s and really poor atheletes who need to support there family’s for survival.

    Clausen would benefit for staying another yr. because>
    he would be a Senior starting QB which would help his Leadership skills- Maturity- Live game Competition –
    New Coaching which equals MORE coaching-
    Learn a new system which would make him more football intelligent.
    He would get Bigger and Stronger.
    The Education

    Clausen should go to the NFL B/c
    Money, Money, Money,
    U do have to worry about a bradford inj which would cost u money

    Personally I am excited to watch crist play and I do believe Clausen will go to the NFL b/c CW will advise him to go and Money Money Money Money and the bradford inj.

    Peyton manning stayed and I believe he had the best advisors…

    Tate

    dito and to have a coach to teach him to run routes properly..

  22. Per the scoop
    Notre Dame:
    Sources tell us that Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick has turned his focus towards Stanford Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh.

  23. Over the past few days, I have been scouring through sports sites looking for breaking news about the coaching change at ND in my spare time. It hasn’t surprised me at all, that fans, commentators, conversation boards, and columnist have been bringing potential candidates out of left field.

    Many of them are just downright funny like:
    • Tony Dungy
    • Jon Gruden
    • Brian Bilick
    • Bill Cowher

    I guess anything is possible; however it’s fairly unlikely that these guys would ever consider coming back to the college game. There’s no question, they are great coaches and would certainly prove to be “huge” front page stories on ESPN and newspapers around the country. But, does anyone truly feel that these guys (while incredible as they are) would make a good “college” head coach?

    Right now, ND needs less coverage of “left-field” candidates like Tony Dungy saying “is there anything less than zero percent chance of that happening?” when asked about the ND Head Coaching vacancy. I really wish the off the wall suggestions would be edited by their producers and editors and start providing viable candidates instead of creating rumors.
    Getting past the crazy people, we then have coaches who would be incredible and would lead the Irish back to prominence like:

    • Patterson
    • Stoopes
    • Myer

    The only problem is that many of these guys are living the dream where they are now. Myer is becoming a legend before our eyes down in Florida and shows little sign of slowing down. He will certainly lose some talent after this year, but the state of Florida is stacked on high school football talent, so it will be a short re-building year for the probable 3 time National Champion Gators.

    Stoopes also has little reason to leave Norman, he is the front man for one of the best football universities in the county. Their facilities are incredible, not to mention, the academic ease of getting kids to be able to enter his school. Why would he leave that?

    It’s rumored that Patterson just signed an extension with TCU. He has built a big name for himself in Texas, at a school that is coincidently reminiscent of Notre Dame. TCU has very high standards and will not always get the 5-star athlete that they want for their program.

    Patterson is my pick for the best of the “probably not going to happen” coaches that will come to South Bend. He faces many of the stressors of finding great athletes who have the character and scholastics to attend Notre Dame.

    All three of these guys could take the Irish to the next level, no one questions that. But is it realistic that any of them will actually leave their programs, for the Irish?

    Granted it’s hard to determine what’s lip service and what’s not when these high profile coaches say they “are not” interested when asked about coming to South Bend. They can’t say that they are interested publicly while they are preparing for an upcoming game this Saturday through January. However, as history has shown with many of these coaches, they are willing to jump ship if the situation and money is right.

    I’ll be the first to say I hope so! But, I’m not getting my hopes up.

    The AD has said he wants a coach with a proven track record of building a football program with head coaching experience that is defensive minded. The three coaches above certainly fulfill what he wants, but, if we take the “pie in the sky” candidates off the short list for just a moment who does that leave?

    • Jim Harbaugh (Stanford)
    • Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern)
    • Brian Kelly (Cincinnati)

    Out of this group the one that obviously stands out is Brian Kelly. He would satisfy nearly every bar set of the requirements that the AD is seeking. In my mind, he is probably the one we will end up with. That is, if everything goes well, and we again start to see some of that “luck of the Irish,” helping us out again.

    Harbaugh however, isn’t going anywhere. He has it made out there in California, with a program that has high standards, and will set him up to take over another program in a few years. Who knows, we may seem him walking the sidelines of the Big House at some point.

    It’s hard for any of us to take any risks with “up and comers”, but there is one guy that I have been watching for a few years now. Personally, I would be delighted to have him. Over the last few years many coaches have been waiting for him to get his chance in the SEC. His coaching pedigree is off the charts, he has been tutored by the likes of Lou Holtz, Steve Spurier, and Urban Myer. He has close ties to Notre Dame and has developed and led his side of the ball to become the best defense in the nation 4 of the last 5 years. His players love him, and Urban is suggesting that he be interviewed for the Louisville job that just came available.

    All I’m saying is that maybe he should be looked at….real close. He could potentially become the “coach” that has been hand built to lead a team of hungry kids back to the top. His pedigree, success, ties to ND, and fight can’t be ignored as an option.

    He would certainly be a risk, due to not having a lot of head coaching experience other than being the interim coach while at Florida during the 2004 season, but if Lou Holtz, Spurier and Urban felt he was good enough to be there man and take over their defensive units, maybe we should be talking more about him….

      1. Charlie Strong, the guy has had a really impressive coaching career and deserves a chance.

  24. Stoops. Let’s hope it’s Stoops.

    This is a difficult time, though, for the program. I think it’s hard to imagine Stoops leaving his $3.7mm contract at OU to come to South Bend. At the same time, along with Brian Kelly, he appears to be the best option available.

    With respect to Kelly, he has a pretty nice deal at Cinci — in the $2mm range — and so he will be a difficult grab, too. I suppose between Stoops and Kelly, I would prefer Stoops because of his OU defenses — and his national presence. Recruits are familiar with him and would love to play for him. But, I would be thrilled to get Brian Kelly, someone who took Cinci to the brink of a national title game — and who won a D2 national title or two. It’s crazy what he’s done in his short career.

    Tuberville would be a good catch, too. He won a lot at Auburn and is familiar with the crazy atmosphere of a big-time college football program. And, Gary Patterson has shown a pretty obvious ability to perform well under less than ideal conditions at TCU.

    So, those are my Tuesday thoughts. Go Irish!

    1. Being an Okie….. Stoops is NOT the right choice. He cannot win on the road. Besides he building a new home and his wife has a new business in Norman that would be hard to give up. But I would love to hear all these ND haters around here weep..

    1. FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU and coach Gary Patterson have agreed to terms on a long-term contract extension, according to two sources close to the situation. An official announcement is expected Wednesday morning.

  25. Just read a piece from Ivan Maisel from ESPN. He drags ND through the mud.
    What the hell does he know about Irish football. I bet he has never even stepped on the campus. He says any real coach won’t want the job. He says possiable coaches will take one look at the roster and run the other way. He states that 33 seniors are leaving, plus Clausen and Tate. He says that Dayne Crist is washed up. Last I heard, Clausen and Tate haven’t decided. And Yeah, there are 33 seniors. But some of those have 5th year eligibility. Mr.Crist is a high charater guy. Don’t ever underestimate him. He is going to be better than Jimmy Clausen. Not only can he throw, but he can run too.
    The cubboard is far from bare. There is still Floyd, Kamara, Shaq Evans, John Goodman, Deion Walker, and the top tightend in all of college football in Kyle Rudolph.
    We lose one running back. James Aldridge. But everyone else is back. And don’t forget a redshirt running back named Cierre Wood.
    Here are a few more names, Trevor Robinson, Zack Martin, Lewis Moore, Ethan Johnson, Darious Fleming, Ian Williams, A true nose tackle in Tyler Stockton, a long snapper in Jordan Cowert, and a middle linebacker named Manti Te’o.
    There are plenty of college coaches out there who tried to recruit these same players. I’m betting that their eyes light up when they look at our roster.
    C-Dog was right when he posted yesterday to just ignore ESPN and their pinhead writers.
    Maisel…. what a douche-nozzell.
    The coach who inherits this roster has a chance to go right to the top in his first year.

    1. It was actually Gene Wojciechowski and don’t listen to those ESPN idiots. I was listening to Bill King this morning on Sirius radio who said don’t under estimate the right hire at ND. He uses Bama as an example. He is a Kelly guy.

    2. I’m pretty certain that Clausen and Tate will go pro, but there is still plenty left. I’m hearing that Shaq Evans and Jonas Gray might be transfering because of lack of playing time. Which is a downright shame because those two have tons of potential. Both could easily be top college players. Plus Te’o might go on his mission next season.

      I think a defensive mind coach would welcome the opportunity at ND. There is talent on that side of the ball and hopefully more for the 2010 recruiting class (hope there is no defections)

      I think ND will want to make this decision quickly. Hopefully within the next two weeks.

  26. Muschamp is a psycho and would never be able to handle the political side of being a head coach for ND.

    Tuberville?? Seriously??

  27. Despite lack of head coaching experience, Muschamp could work.

    And Tuberville – 85-40 at Auburn and 6-3 in bowls. I hope the Irish give him a look.

  28. Urban Meyer’s luck is about to run out after his meeting with Satan this week. Forget about him. And Harbaugh is heading to Michigan after they fire RichRod. No to Billick and Stoopid is staying in Norman. And no to Davis, he’s not consistent.

    I think your most likely list is solid though.

    One name on your other list that intrigues me is Tommy Tubberville. I never thought of him – he is a great coach.

  29. So does previous experience mean that Will Muschamp and Charlie Strong are out of the picture??? Two of the best D Coordinators in the country right there and to rule them out because they’ve never been a head coach would be a poor choice imo.

    1. So ive done a shortlist of potential coaches, what does everyone think?

      Most Likely:
      Brian Kelly
      Chris Petersen
      Gary Patterson

      Possible:
      Bob Stoops
      Butch Davis
      Kirk Ferentz
      Will Muschamp
      Charlie Strong

      Other/dreams:
      Urban Meyer
      Tony Dungy
      Brian Billick
      Tommy Tuberville
      Bronco Mendenhall
      Kevin Sumlin
      Jim Harbaugh

      1. Don’t forget about Skip Holtz. He’s brought ECU out of the depths with very mediocre talent.

        They need to look for someone who has been consistently good. Not just hot this year.

        other outside the box candidates:
        Jim Leavitt-USF
        Jim Grobe-Wake Forest
        Greg Schiano-Rutgers

      2. Chris Peterson would be the Grand Slam of the Century, you can x Pattersen TCU was quick to settle that. If Meyer is hired I will leave ND forever. Remember the Spikes incident this is not ND. Harbaugh is great but he is a Michigan guy.
        NO NFL coaches they are not suitable for our criteria.
        Stoops would be another Grand Slam.
        Brian Kelley
        Pat Fitzgerald
        Kirk Ferentz.

        Pray for Peterson.

      3. What about Mike Leach? Has anyone thought about him? I think he would be great. He understands the importance of academics, has prolific offenses, has made Texas Tech relevant.

      4. Mike Leach is Charlie Weis, only he’s not at Notre Dame. Sure they score a ton, but they give up a ton as well. That has been our problem. Bringing in Leach would be a lateral (if not backwards) move.

    2. I run a business with over 650 employee’s. You have leaders and you have managers and downline management. Yes you must have demonstrated you can run an organization.

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