Meyer Still Dreams of Notre Dame

Just as Charlie Weis’s seat has begun to cool down a little, Urban Meyer made some comments yesterday where are sure to get the rumor mills churning once again.  Speaking on sports talk radio in South Florida yesterday, Urban Meyer said that Notre Dame is still his dream job.

Urban Meyer is at the height of his profession. He is coaching in his second BCS Championship Game in three years. Yet, one month before that game, he sent his voice throughout South Florida saying this:

“Notre Dame is still my dream job. That hasn’t changed.”

By the way, in case you weren’t aware, the Notre Dame job is on shaky ground, because Fighting Irish head coach Charlie Weis has struggled, and struggled mightily.

Well now.  I didn’t see that coming.  Before anyone gets too excited, Meyer said he wouldn’t want to coach at Notre Dame until sometime after his children are done with school – his youngest child is just 10 years old.

Still, it’s pretty interesting to hear Meyer describe the ND job as his dream job.  It’s also pretty surprising, and not its not just the fact that he still considers Notre Dame his dream job that surprises me.

Meyer is a very shrewd recruiter and has been very successful poaching committed recruits from Notre Dame the past few years.  Meyer’s comments and the stories accompanying it give the Notre Dame coaches a lot of ammunition to use against Meyer on the recruiting trail.  I would imagine a line such as, “Hey, why would you want to go to Florida when the head coach there says Notre Dame is actually his dream job?” might be a pretty affective counterpoint to anything Meyer and the Florida stay might say in any head to head recruiting battles or in attempting to away a Notre Dame commitment.

Of course, Meyer might also just want to add to our misery by stating that he would really like to coach at Notre Dame someday while he prepares for the National Championship and we prepare for the Hawaii Bowl.

Either way, have fun with this little piece of info.

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33 Comments

  1. C-Dog,

    I like you idea of bringing in Lou & crew. Jo-Pa turning 82 is getting a 3 year extention at Penn State (no age discrimination here). Lou is dragging a diaper compared to this guy (Lou 11 years younger).

    All in all, this may very well be a possibility if Charlie doesn’t go 11-1 next year and there’s absolutely no excuse not to.

    Further, this may have some bearing on Charlie’s fate. Tommy Tuberville recently discovered, only being an outstanding recruiter doesn’t verify you’re an outstanding coach that can develop the talent to the level required for National Title wins. Recruiting is only one part of the equation as we have discussed here before.

    Lastly, a bowl win is mandatory, otherwise the dynamics of this could change rapidly.

  2. C-Dog,

    Yes indeed, I remember 1987 like yesterday; when Lou displayed his terrific positive motivational skills to weather a fan storm simular to this one. A National Championship followed in 1988.

    Did you see Pete Carroll on 60 minutes last Sunday? Whether we despise him or not, one thing he has in common with Lou is a proven positive mojo trait.

    Carrolls’ teams are up, motivated, and ready to draw 1st blood, and deliver the knock out punch in short order. Just like Lou and Urban, eventhough all their personal styles are indeed different.

    In my view, Charlie’s mojo is still in the NFL. Your recommended reading brings that to light. Charlie is an extremely bright, over-the-top hard working and competitively confident guy.

    However, only being personally motivated and work long hard hours doesn’t carry the day if the team doesn’t feel the coach’s (positive?) motivation.

    ” And don’t get on the plane if you don’t think you can win.” Negative motivation never works and the results are obvious.

    To be a positive “difference maker” you have to have positive interpersonal skills to make the difference. Then and only then, your team is truely motivated and all the mistakes start disappearing; if you are a qualified successful head coach.

    It is well know extroverts are great motivators, and ambientverts are ideal for motivation and management.

    Unfortunely, introverts have very limited motivational skills.

    So, I truely believe and agree with you it is soul searching time.

    We all know positive motivation and positive “results” are the keys to sucess and we certainly can’t run from it.

    Positive people skills can indeed be learned, but the “Achilles’ Heel” is the execution. This is where introverts are discovered and stumble badly.

    Even Corwin has not rubbed off on CW. The defense definately responds to Corwins’ successful ebullient approach.

    Yes my friends, motivation is a personal genetic calling card, you can’t bottle it or sell it. You either have it or you don’t.

    In my view, that is the albatross around Charlie’s neck. Not the adminstrations’ new noose with a short rope, although it will just add unecessary resentment.

    Some have indeed, proven to overcome the problem, but it is well documented most do not.

    Finally, witness this; No amount of acrimonious debate will solve this problem.

  3. JC,
    I was going to write more, when it dawned on me. Bring in Lou Holtz, Aaron Taylor, and keep the defensive staff around. Have Lou assess whether Weis can cut it as a head coach. Otherwise promote Tenuta, Brown or Taylor himself to head ocach.

  4. JC,
    My hope is that Weis will have some sort of Ebeneezer Scrooge moment and the Spirit of Seasons Future will bring him to the locker room steps and show him the sign, Play Like a Champion Today. (Actually someone could write an entire parity of Dicken’s Christmas Carol, with many obvious parallels. ) If Charlie were to read that article, he might do three things.

    1. Get an offensive line coach with fire in his heart.

    2. Set the expectations high starting in the off season. You could replace the line with walk-ons who you could push harder and you’d get more out of them. Navy, Army, and Air Force do.

    3. Develop a philosophy of winning. What does it take. Lou Holtz did a gut check on himself before the 1988 season. Remember, 1987 didn’t end well and there were questions. Those of us around the team in the offseason could tell 1988 was going to be special by spring of that year.

  5. C-Dog,

    A stark reality where we have come. The article would be difficult to rebuke since we have witnessed almost every aspect of it.

    The question then becomes; how do we fix all these deficiences in less than a year?

  6. I think Urban turned us down four years ago for a reason: he wanted to go to a program where he KNEW he could be successful. He was coming from Utah – hardly a top program – and he wanted to show the world what he could do at a great program like Florida’s. At the time, the ND job could not have looked too attractive to him. I could see him wanting to come to ND down the line a few years, once he has won multiple championships and secured his legacy as an all-time great.

  7. @Irisheye62, I was very sad when they ran Lou out. He had some down years, but only relatively and could have brought it back up with who they had coming in after Paulus.

    @Paul – If Notre Dame is only about winning, it’s not Notre Dame anymore, and I would stop beign a fan, even as an alum. Notre Dame needs to be different, special, and as much as possible holding to ideals and principals.

    @JC, You bring up a point. ND has been poor in their treatment of coaches. Either too harsh, too lenient and demonstrating lack of clarity on expectations coming in. I would put a coach on a probationary period with a reasonable buy out if things don’t work out. during that probationary period, you want to see reasonable GPA, recruiting, and certain internal activities meeting objectives. Short term is not about wins/losses but about building for the future. If those expectations are being met, there should then be a long term commitment that let’s the coach know 2 or 3 down years in wins along won’t jeopardize employment. I think if Notre Dame put this type of package together, it would have a competitive advantage. Especially looking at what other schools have done recently. Look at Phil fulmer, David Cutcliffe, Tommy Tuberville, and some others. Just showing commitment given that there will be down years you’ll get a coach who can sustain a program and put the team in a position to win the BCS most years.

  8. Amen irisheye62,

    The administration hung CW out for three days and the yellow journalism exploded into a neophobic-on-the-edge-feeding-frenzy. The administration knew exactly what they were doing, a performance appraisal in the media until we meet, a cryptic agenda not so hidden. Sadly, the most vainglorious bush league move I’ve ever witnessed at ND. Nobody deserved the brutal chaos generated, not the players, not the recruits, not the assistant coaches, not the alums, not the fans nor CW. I certainly hope illusions and deceptions are not the new administration’s modus operandi?

    Clearly, the nationally jack-booted circus will definately beg the ultimate coaching question; do I really want to work for ND? Regardless of CW’s 1 year probation outcome, if they think they can treat coaches like students, it’s no small wonder why we cannot attract National Championship caliber college head football coaches. After the way we treated Lou Holtz and now another draconian media event; when are they going to live in the confession booth and attempt to get it right? Whatever happened to the endorsable tenet of a confidential review (not a vague outline in the media before changes are made)and silence cannot be misquoted?
    It would be a whole-lot-less-painful for everyone involved.

  9. I think we all just want to win. That pretty much sums it up for me. IF we win…. with Charlie stop crying and believe and cheer on your team.

  10. Boys and Girls:

    Can’t you hear yourselves?
    Read what you have just said.
    There is mutiny coming from frustraion!
    Let’s look at the Administration of the Golden Dome. Getting Bob Davie was the beginning of a horrific choice and downward spiral.
    I cannot believe that there were not other choices out there after Lou left. Lou, by the way, was practically escorted by Wadsworth–God rest his soul. Fans complained then about some things not going “right.”
    Don’t you wish we could go back in time and change it?
    For a University with high expectation and academic standards, why should an administration be so arrogant and knuckle headed to do what it has done? Davie, Willinghan, O’Leary, we can’t get Urban, let’s go the Patriots. Something is wrong on the sidelines. The Golden Dome is beaming brightly but beneath the roof inside offices there is talk not becoming of a University named after the Mother of Jesus. Pride goeth before a fall. Want to wake up the thunder? Point at the administration’s mistakes for starters. They have divided ND fans on this board and other places as well.
    The Love for the University and all is still there.
    However, to play like a Champion, we need to be LED be Champions in the Administration, the Religous and the Sidelines.
    The Ghosts of the past are shaking their heads and asking “Why?”

  11. I think Urban is a lot of talk. There is no reason for him to come to Notre Dame. Why would you leave the job at Florida? (Well, I guess he might want to prove that he can turn any program around.)

    I wouldn’t hold my breath…

  12. Castine,

    Well, on the contrary, it is time to be alarmed with the accepted root cause of mediocrity. Especially, the double standard, Willingham is a much bigger person than I gave him credit for.

    I too, am tired of all the mediocre moaners rant, oh time to be a supporter, oh next year and oh maybe 9-3 expectations; I have never stopped and will always support the team.

    Nonetheless, to intentionally distort mine and others support for the team because we don’t except the current mediocrity of Mr. Braggadocios/”No Excuses,” is merely simplistic whining and that is getting old.

    Unfortuntely, most have trouble dealing with the unvarnished truth, and that is the difference between followers and leaders.

    Yes, there other coaches and the job requirement should read:

    No wishful Holtz Wannabe’s. No College National Championship Ring. Don’t brother to apply.

    Goooooooooooooooo Irish!

  13. i am a supporter. But supporting something blindly is just foolish. Criticism builds a better program. You cannot support things that simply do not work.

  14. Maybe Chucky is ready to come to South Bend. There has got to be other coaches out there. I can’t believe Urban would be on the short list once you have turned down the job once. I doubt CW had plans to remain at ND for the long term anyway. Let’s say things go well for the next 2-3 years and he leaves…who is on the short list?

    For David and JC, your rants about CW, soft schedule, etc…they are getting OLD!
    Time to be supporters not alarmists.

  15. yeah communist, we can speak our mind.

    Feeling good about next year isnt much of an accomplishment since the schedule is as soft as charmin toilet paper.

  16. Can we just all support Notre Dame, The Team, and Charlie in the bowl game? Like it or not he is our coach next year. I feel a great season coming and can see it.

    Winning will make the fickle “fans” shut their mouths and be just “fans” again. I understand completely why so many people hate Notre Dame. We have the worst “fickled” “sour” “spoiled” fans ever.

  17. C’mon guys. Urban has done nothin differently from any other coach in the country. Other than making 2 trips to a national title game in three years.I would love to see meyer back at nd. He undrestands todays game and gets his players ready to play.
    Also from what I read his players admire him greatly. He also encourages them to do volunteer work off the field.

  18. AS LONG AS IT REMAINS A DREAM , that is fine. But to have it become reality is unthinkable!!!!! IF HE IS THE FUTURE OF ND,,heaven help us!!!!

  19. Ha, horrible and sad. Man I hope ND destroys Hawaii and rapes nest year. You will not hear the end to me ripping you. So SAD. URBAN MEYER? Get some CLASSSSSSSSSS. Go post on ESPN.

  20. Well, Urban understands ND core values, he was good enough to be an assistant coach under Lou Holtz for five years.

    Moreover, Lou speaks highly of of Urban!! I suppose Lou is clueless about Urban and would not endorse him to ND?

    Comparing Urban to USC and Miami is pure self aggrandizement and self-righteous nonsense.

    Show us the pile of serious NCAA pink slip violations, not the nickle dime adminstrative stuff every coach in the country is guilty of or petty dislikes.

    Furthermore, Urban passed the ND litmus test once and I have no doubt he will again. Otherwise, ND would not continue to be his dream job.

    I’ve been a road warrior most of my life and I believe he has valid points on his family and passing on the 1st time around so he could indeed witness his kids growing up. For most people there is more to life than football.

  21. I just don’t see it happening. There’s already conflicted feelings. If Meyer waits too long, potentially ND gets him when he’s burned out.
    ND’s going to get another coach before then or Weis is going to get his act together, that simple. Again, giving Meyer’s comments on timing I just don’t see this as more than a tease.

  22. there is no stealing recruits. The make verbal commitments and kids change their minds.

    and about promising playing time, everyone does it in recruiting. Once they get to the school, if they dont live up to the expectations, they dont play. Kids that are good enough get to play. welcome to life.

    Like him or not, he will be the future of ND.

  23. Weis and Powlus. Does anyone get it? Powlus was a loser for four years and now he is coaching our quaterback for what will be three years. From first to second years there was no improvement in quarterback play.

  24. No way I would want Urban. He turned us down already and has STOLLEN our recruits. He is a liar and he promises playing time to kids to help his “recruiting methods” and then they dont play. These are 18 year old kids he is making promises too. I wouldnt ever want him here.

    Also, dont lower your standards ND to people just because you want to win that badly. If you do you are no better than the USC’s who pay their players and the Florida’s who “Steal” recruits and have no standards (starts with the head coach ie. Urban Meyer) or even Thug U Miami who plays fellons. No way I want that scandalous coach here.

  25. I dont know how much of a “strategic tactic” this is. I think he is under the impression that he would have received at least an offer (which he probably would have considered and probably accepted) after this past season. He just wants Jack Swarbrick to know that he is still out there, and would love to come.

    Urban Meyer is more concerned about winning a national championship then “adding to the misery” of a 6-6 team.

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