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Trot out the usual suspects

Nov 30, 2009, 5:00 PM EDT

81 Comments

Now that Charlie Weis is officially out as the head coach of the Notre Dame football team, it’s high time we run out the usual suspects to find Weis’ replacement. While media outlets have been reporting on potential replacements for the past week or so, the reality of the situation is that nobody has any real clue on who will be the next head guy, especially with the Bob Stoops rumors quelled.

With Stoops unwilling to talk about whether or not he’s been contacted about the job, I’m not able to say with any certainty that Stoops talked to Swarbrick or somebody within Notre Dame, but message board folks are contending that Notre Dame actually put a financial package together and showed it to Stoops before he said that he was returning to Oklahoma. If that’s the case, that’s certainly news-worthy, and I imagine it’ll only be a matter of time before we find out the reality of the situation.

All that said, let’s take a look at the suspects:

BRIAN KELLY

Kelly hasn’t exactly hid his interest in the job, and with Stoops likely out, he seems to be the odd-on-favorite. There’s nothing you can really say about Kelly that’s bad, he’s won at every place he’s been and he’s taken Cincinnati to historic levels. He fits the Catholic/Irish thing to a tee, and while he’d never admit it, he’s likely plateaued with the Bearcats.

BOB STOOPS

Even with the denial, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up in South Bend. And while he certainly doesn’t twinkle like the bright shining star he was five years ago, there’s no question he’s an elite head coach with a defensive background, something most Irish fans and administrators are probably looking for. This would be a grand slam for Jack Swarbrick.

URBAN MEYER

I give this a one percent chance of happening, but if the Notre Dame job is open, you’ve got to at least drag Meyer’s name into the fray and force him to declare his allegiances to Florida again for the thousandth time. (That said, if I’m Meyer, now is the perfect time to leave Florida. No Tebow, National Championships by the handful, and the chance to take a Notre Dame team with a very good talent base to greatness. This is a lot better job than the one Ron Zook left him in Florida.)

JON GRUDEN

Some people might flinch at the idea of bringing in another coach with a professional background, but this is a Super Bowl winning head coach with a personality that’s already won him a contract extension on ESPN for being so likeable, making me think he’d probably be a true weapon on the recruiting trail. I don’t have any doubts that Gruden could figure out the college game, especially when he made mention that he was going to spend this year out of coaching learning the spread offense and other things that are dominating the college game. I don’t give this option much of a shot, but it’d be a pretty exciting hire for Irish fans, and at the very least, press conferences would be a ton of fun.

GARY PATTERSON

TCU’s coach will be mentioned just because he’s a seemingly good fit for the job. He turned his team with allegedly less into one of the more vaunted in the country, and the defense the Horned Frogs play has to have Irish fans frothing at the mouth. Still, Patterson is far from a perfect choice and his surly personality might not jive with the attention that is hoisted onto the head coach at Notre Dame. He should certainly get mentioned, but I’d be surprised if he wanted the job.

SKIP HOLTZ

Would it be a list without mentioning Skip? He’s the head coach of East Carolina, the son of Lou, and a graduate of Notre Dame. He was an offensive coordinator under his father at Notre Dame and South Carolina, the head coach at UConn, and has turned the Pirates into a fairly respectable football program. Some throwback fans would probably be happy, but Holtz would likely be in over his head.  

WILL MUSCHAMP

Muschamp’s name might as well represent all the hot coordinators out there, and I really don’t see this happening either. He’s the coach-in-waiting at Texas, a place that has a strangle-hold on talent that makes even Urban Meyer jealous. Still, he’s the type of guy that might end up Notre Dame’s head coach, and get many Irish fans riled up because the administration wasn’t able to get a bigger name.

KEYSER SOZE

Okay, so maybe the mysterious underworld kingpin from The Usual Suspects isn’t actually a candidate for the job. But there’s a very real chance that someone nobody is talking about ends up coaching the Fighting Irish next season. Just because fans at the water cooler or we in the media haven’t thought of him, doesn’t mean there isn’t a good unknown fit out there. The bottom line is, that good football is being played at schools all around the country. Notre Dame no longer can tout it’s games being covered on national TV or it’s deep storied tradition as reasons for people to step into the South Bend pressure cooker.

Since the ouster of Tyrone Willingham, it’s felt like the tail has been wagging the dog at times, with the calls for change coming from inside the walls of the fanbase and the board of directors. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick has taken control of the situation and so far handled it with dignity, but also swiftness. I don’t doubt that Swarbrick has a plan in place and that the plan will carry itself out in a much smoother fashion than the last time there was a vacancy at head coach of the football program.

(For an even longer list of potential replacements, check out this article.)

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  1. Keith Arnold - Dec 1, 2009 at 9:00 PM

    Thanks for the proof reading — as you can probably imagine, we’ve been a little busy these last few days, and I’m sure most of you won’t believe me, but it wasn’t even mine!

  2. North Texas Domer - Dec 1, 2009 at 10:04 PM

    I pretty much agree with El Kona’s assessment of the talent pool (46). If you assume Stoops is really out, I think Brian Kelly, Chris Peterson, Muschamp and several others, could be good choices given a longer time table with which to work. However, I’m not sure any of these names have the cachet to recruit BCS-caliber talent nationally (who have the brains to make it at ND) until they are competing for championships and success builds upon itself.
    One of the reasons ND needs to go with a big name is that coaches are on such a short leash in South Bend. Considering the talent that could be possibly be lost due to the coaching change (e.g., Clausen, Tate), ability to recruit is even more important. Dungy, Gruden, Meyer and Stoops can pull this off. If a candidate of this status isn’t obtainable, impatience in the fanbase may doom the Irish to a vicious cycle of program rebuilding mediocrity.
    GO IRISH!

  3. Mike - Dec 1, 2009 at 10:10 PM

    I admit I am curious about who will coach but I don’t have a preference, just get somebody good!!!
    I hope that the same campus administration that caused this mess can clean it up.

  4. Lou - Dec 2, 2009 at 2:12 AM

    Had such high hopes this year but Charlie managed to throw that out the window after the Michigan loss. As a die hard ND fan I’m ready for change. I like the possibilities being brought forward with Gruden, Kelly, Patterson, and a sleeper that I like is Al Golden a Penn St. grad who is doing a very good job turning arround a very bad Temple football program. Lets for once and for all forget about Meyer, and Stoops I don’t think they want the ND job. I don’t understand what the hell StephenOfTroy is doing commenting here, they got their coach it took them a long time to find him, but they have one. Last I checked USC season is not much to brag about they got stomped by two Pac 10 teams, but what I’m most satisfied about is that ND still owns their worst ass kickin. ND WILL BE back and very soon.

  5. John F. Kenny - Dec 2, 2009 at 9:46 AM

    I am ND Alumni Family and Sports Family. We have given “Lou Holts” too much of a vacation and only he could turn around the Irish. He has done it before ! Get rid of the staff such as Paul who as a palyer was as failure.

  6. John F. Kenny - Dec 2, 2009 at 9:48 AM

    I am ND Alumni Family and Sports Family. We have given “Lou Holtz” too much of a vacation and only he could turn around the Irish. He has done it before ! Get rid of the staff such as Paul who as a player was as failure.

  7. Rome619 - Dec 2, 2009 at 11:47 AM

    You domers are as cluless as your AD. This program is middle of the pack and is not coming back anytime soon. So much for the easy schedule this year domers. It’s a good thing MSNBC took down the message board because I would have had a field day on it.

  8. Brandon Michaels - Dec 2, 2009 at 3:48 PM

    Why not at least inquire about Ohio St coach, jim Tressel. Great coach, recruiter, and disciplinarian, which we need. His defenses are top notch also.

  9. ourlady $ - Dec 2, 2009 at 4:14 PM

    I am very proud of the way Charlie Weis has conducted himself as the coach of Notre Dame. Like our school ,he has handled with class and distinction and wish him and his family all the best in the future. I am also proud of our athletic director. After reading his press conferance yesterday, Mr Swarbrick was honest and sincere, everything the school represents.
    Notre Dame will compete for a National title in the future without taking the easy way out. This school will atract high caliber athletes and great people because of what this this school stands for. There is never a quick fix to anything that is worthwhile.
    Go Irish!!

  10. DocHR - Dec 2, 2009 at 6:07 PM

    Though I haven’t updated the statistics from last week’s games, through 11/21, Notre Dame opponents had a better combined win-loss record than Florida opponents. So much for the talk about ND’s easy schedule. At the very least they don’t play a Division 1-AA school like Florida does, either (Charleston Southern).

  11. joe from Dublin - Dec 2, 2009 at 7:34 PM

    I think the plan was to take Stoops first and then Kelly as the back up. Stoops had interest but things fell apart on Monday and they parted ways according to ESPN. It is rare for a coach at one of the top 15 programs to jump ship for another. Now they have to wait until after the Pitt/ Cincy game to announce Kelly. If Kelly or ND made an announcement before that game it would tarnish the image of both upstaging the biggest victory in Cincy football in years, like the A-Rod free agency announcement on the day of the World Series win for Boston. All indications are that he wants ND badly and he is an easy choice for Swarbrick. Nobody will question it if he does not work out. As a fan base, we just need to be patient and wait for next week and ignore all the rumors. I personally think Kelly is going to be the best choice in the end for the program as he seems like a fit on so many levels. I do find it interesting that they were able to get Nix signed with no coach. I never have seen that before which to me says a lot about Alford. People also have to stop hating Meyer for not coming here. He never promised us anything or owed us anything. He just made the best decision for him and his family. If nothing else be angry at the university for not doing a better job of selling the ND job to him back then.

  12. StephenOfTroy - Dec 2, 2009 at 9:36 PM

    Brandon Michaels: WHY do you think Ohio State’s head coach would ever consider coaching at ND? Seriously. Some of you ND fans are oblivious to reality. You’re not going to leave Ohio State to coach at ND in 2010. Maybe (just maybe) you would in 1970, or 1990. But not now. Ohio State is doing just fine, despite losing two years in a row to my Trojans. Tressel has job security and a long leash. He’d have neither of those at ND.
    When will you people get realistic and stop acting as though every coach, no matter whether he’s in the pros or college, and no matter where he is, thinks that ND is the end-all, be-all? If I didn’t like ND, it would just be funny. But I do like ND, so it’s a bit sad. We’re never going to turn the program around until the expectations get lowered to reality and we address the actual problems. Pretending that you’re a tweak, a coach, and a year away from a national title is just going to get the NEXT guy fired when HE doesn’t win right away, either.

  13. gregizzo - Dec 2, 2009 at 10:22 PM

    You know every USC fan better keep in mind the years prior to Pete Carroll. 15 years winning the occasional rose bowl but now your a powerhouse and title contender. Just took the right coach with the right skill set and Pete has it. Did you lower your standards? Did you expect your team to go out and find a 3rd or 4th tier coach? No. Florida was awful for 40 years before the “ol ball coach” took over. Bobby Bowden put Florida State on the map. ND is moving foward it is just taking more time, they are still retooling talent. The media would love for ND to be out of the picture because they are the only one with the power to break the BCS in two pieces.

  14. Brandon Michaels - Dec 2, 2009 at 11:22 PM

    Apparently you do not live in Ohio. Ohio State fans are always criticizing tressel and he may have had enough. I’m amazed at all you experts that live with venom in your hearts, you must have big self image problems.

  15. joe from Dublin - Dec 2, 2009 at 11:48 PM

    Stephen of Troy:
    you need to settle my friend. Here is the reality. ND is always going to be a premiere program. FSU is always going to be a premier program. Miami is as well, etc… The reality is that they will all be in the modern day of college football. This is not the turn of the century with the IVY League powerhouses where Universities will turn their back on sports. There is too much money at stake now. There are about 10-15 universities who are in this same position. All of them will have the pick of the litter on second tier coaches when they want. The second tier level team coaches know that they need to make a move or they face never considering a possible championship. Look at Kelly this year or Boise St or TCU. They did everything they were asked but had no real chance since day one. At ND or any of the other 10-15 programs they would have been right there in the NC title. it cracks me up that ESPN questions if ND is irrelevant only to make them the focus of every show.

  16. StephenOfTroy - Dec 3, 2009 at 3:47 AM

    joe from Dublin: We’re not friends. What do I need to “settle?” We’re already pretty clear on the fact that you are mired in the past. What else do we need to hash out? You think ND has the “pick of the litter.” I think they’re going to get the runt of the litter. Time will tell. If and when Urban or Bob Stoops comes to South Bend, you can say what you want to me. Until then, I’m not going to listen to the wishful thinking and nonsense about how great Notre Dame USED TO BE.
    I have news for you. Kelly, Boise State, and TCU aren’t measuring their entire lives by whether they win a national title.
    In other news, ESPN likes to talk about ND precisely because so many people HATE Notre Dame’s arrogance, and people like to kick the giant once he falls. Look at the Tiger Woods coverage. One of the ESPN analysts listed the dozen or so schools who have either won a title or gone undefeated since ND won a title, and he said “you know who’s not in the conversation? Notre Dame. And they HATE it.”
    So yes, ND is the focus of a lot of the shows right now, but only because it’s so delicious to put those Charlie Weis clips of him talking about “every game will have a decided schematic advantage” and “You’re a six-and-five football team. And you know what, that’s just not good enough. It’s not good enough for you, and it’s certainly not going to be good enough for me” right up next to his MISERABLE record.
    I don’t think your reality is my reality, my “friend.” I prefer the reality that actually happens. Good luck with yours.

  17. StephenOfTroy - Dec 3, 2009 at 3:52 AM

    Brandon: Just like Bob Dylan taught us that “you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” you don’t need to live in Ohio to know that Jim Tressel isn’t going to take huge backward career move to leave his job at Ohio State to go coach at ND.
    He may get some flak from fans, but he has not had enough. He’s going to the Rose Bowl this year. Since USC will not be there, he may even win it. And as long as Ohio State beats Michigan, his job is secure. Tressel isn’t going to ND. Period.
    joe from Dublin talked about “second tier” schools. Ohio State is not second-tier. They’re ranked. ND is not. ND is BARELY a second-tier school these days. As I’ve said before, you people need a reality check.

  18. irishfanintx - Dec 3, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    joe from Dublin: Gotta agree with ya about the media coverage and ND being such an irrelevant program. What other team receives so much press about it’s fall to irrelevancy? Michigan, Miami, Florida State, Tennessee, etc. I can’t think of any!! It is true people love to hate a giant, especially after the giant has fallen. I know that ND haters hate the comparison but just look at the similarities between the ND Irish and the NY Yankees. NY Yankees/ND=storied programs with tradition,NYY/ND=tremendous fan base across the country, NYY/ND=either love em or hate em, NYY/ND=the team that every other team wants to beat worse than anyone else on their schedule, NYY/ND=giants who fell asleep for a while (NYY for 14 years from ’81 until ’95 and ND from ’93 until present). Like the NY Yankees, I think the Irish will wake from their sleep. I beleive that ESPN and other media outlets know this as well. You would think after 16 years of kicking a giant people would move on–especially if they thought the giant was dead.

  19. jeff in tucson - Dec 5, 2009 at 9:04 PM

    Still think Big Dick synder is correct and ND will make a run on Mike Stoops. Beat USC today,

  20. jeff in tucson - Dec 7, 2009 at 9:04 PM

    Iam still going with Big Dick synder’s pick for Mike Stoops. He rescuced the Arizona program, and beat USC. A Holiday Bowl is better than USC Emerald Bowl and ND sitting at home.

  21. Stan Rose - Dec 8, 2009 at 11:46 PM

    You can talk all you want about prospectice coaches, and you’ll surely find one eventually. But lets go beyond to a truly under- mining factor. That being recruiting. Notre Dame has a demanding academic progran second to none. Without question, it delimits the number of prospective star high school athletes who cannot meet the rigors of Notre Dame’s entrance requirements to qualify for a scholarship. Therein is the basic problem facing any Notre Dame coach endeavoring to rebuild the fortunes of the football program. The RX is simple. Develop several academic majors that are average but nonetheless legitimate allowing prospective scholarship athletes to meet newly established entrance requirements of the university. It has to be recognized by Notre Dame there are many potentially great college athletes, while intelligent, are not academically oriented. A basic program of education at Notre Dame would open the doors wide for some potentially great athletes for the Irish thereby raising the fortunes of the football program.

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